The World Maritime Technology Conference came to Europe for the first time at The Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre, London
The Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre (QEIICC), London’s most prestigious purpose built centre for professional meetings and events, held the World Maritime Technology Conference (WTMC) 2006. It was the first time the event has taken place in Europe, following its launch in San Francisco three years ago.
Hosted by the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology (IMarEST) and in partnership with 25 of the worlds leading maritime associations, the five day event took place from Monday 6th to Friday 10th March 2006.
With 1,500 delegates attending from around the world, the conference theme was Maritime Innovation – Delivering Global Solutions and promoted industry solutions to industry wide issues while assessing the impact on global economies now and in the future.
Stephen Norcliffe, commercial director at The QEIICC says “It is a huge compliment for the Centre to have been selected to hold an event of this scale and prestige on its first venture into Europe. And of course it is of great value to London as a destination. With fifteen hundred delegates attending from around the world, the economic impact on central London will be considerable.”
Keith Read CBE, chief executive of IMarEST comments, “WMTC 2006 – the World Maritime Technology Conference - provides all involved across the continuum of marine science and engineering, a voice and visibility with governments and industry. It is an unrivalled opportunity for the maritime community to be heard and seen, an opportunity that we must grasp at a time when it was never more important for the sea to be at the forefront of wealth creation.
“The vital role that London plays in the maritime scene is undisputed with a raft of interesting statistics. This includes the fact that 1750 maritime companies and organisations are London-based; eight of the 13 London-based P&I (Protection & Indemnity) Clubs insure 90% of the world’s tonnage; and the fact that London ship brokers handle 50% of tanker charter business. So the capital was the obvious city for the event. We needed a high profile venue to help us get our message over; and, with an eye on government and politicians, there could of been no better – or nearer – location to the Palace of Westminster than The Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre.
“We are expecting up to 1500 delegates from around the world; and up to a hundred exhibiting organisations are making use of the entire Centre. The ten-stream/six daily parallel sessions style of the conference fitted perfectly into The QEIICC and was one of the major reasons for selecting this venue. We ensured good traffic flow between our exhibition floors during the lunchtime conference break by tabling “innovation hours” within the exhibition areas when fast moving presentations were given to provide insight into the latest research and development initiatives, cutting edge technologies and a touch of “off the wall” thinking. The event proved to be a highly stimulating and successful week.”
For further information on WMTC 2006, please visit the website www.wmtc2006.com.