Marseilles, France's leading port, will be hosting the EUROMARITIME exhibition, the two-yearly flagship event for the marine and blue growth industries, for its first ever edition outside Paris.

For three days next month, EUROMARITIME, a forum for encounters and discussions between professionals from different maritime sectors and the whole of the Euro-Mediterranean area, will be taking place in Marseilles. As a fully-fledged showcase, the exhibition aims to present the key issues shaping the maritime world today and in the future, amid the challenges and expectations associated with the blue planet.

The environment and innovation: top priorities

In addition to interaction between scores of exhibitors and experts – in shipbuilding, power sources, digitalization, decontamination, etc. –, there will also be a programme of conferences to look forward to at the exhibition, which is being organised by the leading news cluster for the maritime economy in France, le marin – Ouest-France, in partnership with the French Marine Industry Group (GICAN).

On Tuesday 4 February, after the inaugural tour, debates will kick off with a thematic sequence on the energy transition, which maritime economy policy makers have already taken on board. Key economic and political maritime stakeholders will be outlining their strategies in this respect.

The afternoon is set to continue on this theme with presentations of the various initiatives being rolled out to attain these henceforth crucial goals, including such labels as Surfrider's green shipping label and the launch of the Coalition for Maritime Environmental and Energy Transition; and sector-specific action, such as among ports, shipowners and shipyards, to develop passenger transport that meets populations' expectations in terms of their planet and their ocean.

Each of the new energy sources that are currently gaining traction in the maritime transport sector to reduce emissions, from LNG to hydrogen, electricity, biogas and the return of wind power, will be explored in detail.

Euro-Mediterranean maritime cooperation, whether between States, clusters or ports, is poised to take centre-stage during the morning presentations and panel discussions on Wednesday 5 February.

The second afternoon, meanwhile, will delve into the other trend sweeping through the maritime economy: its digitisation right across the board. Throughout the commercial and logistics chain linking all of the maritime trade stakeholders together (who account for 90% of global trade), cargo community systems (CCS), port community systems (PCS) and blockchain technology are completely shaking up the way port systems and their operators and users are organised. In the same way, from shipbuilding to navigation, ship maintenance, smart ships and smart yards, a sea change is taking place sector-wide.

The final day, Thursday 6 February, will focus on innovation. First item on the agenda: shipbuilding, refitting and scrapping, sectors which are in the process of having to adapt to the environmental requirements, in the same way as the other maritime sectors.

The environment and innovation will also feature in the launch conference, from 11.00 on 6 February, of the Smart Port Challenge 2020, which is being organised for the second year running by the Port of Marseille Fos, Marseilles Provence Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the metropolis of Aix Marseille Provence. Around ten major economic and maritime industry stakeholders will be setting their 2020 challenges for innovative businesses and start-ups.

For start-ups will be given pride of place, with the organisation of a Seanovation area for the first time. This will be dedicated to 15 of them, selected by the organisers to benefit from a stand and have an opportunity, throughout the exhibition, of presenting their business to visitors and other exhibitors during sequences of pitches in between conferences.

Access to the EUROMARITIME is free and open to professionals and the general public alike, subject to registration on the website beforehand.

At a glance:

Key figures from the 2017 Euromaritime exhibition:

• 250 exhibitors
• 5,000 visitors
• more than 10 conferences
• 4th edition in 2020 (2013, 2015, 2017 Paris)

ORGANISATION

EUROMARITIME is a Groupe Ouest-France le marin exhibition, organised by Sogena.

Chair of Euromaritime 2020: Christine Cabau Woehrel

Exhibition Director: Jean-Marie Biette, General Secretary of the maritime division of the Ouest-France Group.

CEO: Hugues d'Argentré, Sogena

Ouest-France – le marin is the French marine industry press leader. Le marin, which is aimed at maritime economy professionals, publishes a weekly edition, a daily digital edition and more than 20 regional or thematic special editions every year. The Ouest-France maritime division also publishes the monthlies Cultures Marines, Le Chasse-Marée and Voiles et Voiliers, as well as Produits de la Mer, which comes out every two months.

Sogena is the events subsidiary of the French Marine Industry Group (GICAN), a trade union with more than 180 member businesses in the shipbuilding and maritime sectors. It brings together the prime contractors, system and equipment manufacturers as well as SMEs and mid caps that are involved in the design, construction, maintenance and implementation of naval vessels, medium and large tonnage merchant vessels and specialised ships and which are helping to shape the Marine Renewable Energy (MRE) sector.

PRESS ENQUIRIES

A press service is available to the media inside the Exhibition, at Parc Chanot Exhibition & Convention Centre in Marseilles

Opening times: Tuesday 4 to Thursday 6 February, from 9.00 to 18.00 (17.00 on the Thursday)

Press accreditations for the EUROMARITIME exhibition can now be obtained online, click here.

Media bank: illustrative photos and royalty-free videos are also available for viewing by the media, click here.