23rd Mare Forum Ship Finance 2024

The 22 previous Mare Forum Shipfinance conferences have bristled with ideas and dynamic debate. A high-level audience consisting of leading executives from the shipping trade and banking industries appreciates and makes the most of the dynamic format and honest debate.

It is an annual conference that hosts principals and high-level executives who actively participate in, discuss, debate, and brainstorm about the future of shipping, trade patterns, logistics, geopolitics, energy transition and security, decarbonisation, investments and ship finance, human capital imperatives, and more.

At our conferences, there are no dull company presentations or lengthy, predictable speeches. Instead, we foster an environment of dynamic and lively discussions, where the panellists and audience participants engage in meaningful exchanges.

The participants are Shipping Executives, Ship owners, Ship managers, Capital providers, Investors, Charterers, Traders, Logistics providers, Energy Executives, Regulators, Lawyers, Consultants, Shipbuilders, Classification Societies, Press, Shipping services providers, and SmartEntrepreneurs.

- If you are an owner needing help finding a good capital provider, come to Mare Forum. Here they are.
- If you are a capital provider needing help finding a good owner, come to Mare Forum and meet them.
- If you are in shipping and ship finance and want to know what will happen next, come to Mare Forum. Good answers will be there.

Rest assured, the Mare Forum Shipfinance conference will be an inspiring and enriching experience.

We look forward to your participation.

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P R O G R A M M E

[The updated programme and the list of confirmed speakers and discussion panellists will be published soon]‍

TENTATIVE LIST OF PANELLISTS (as of 23 July)
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- Pieter Baan, Director, ING Business Banking Shipping
- Eva Klein Ovink Executive Director Short Sea Shipping and Intermodal Coverage, ABN AMRO Bank
‍- Annet Koster Managing Director, Royal Association of Netherlands' Shipowners
- Spyros Tarasis Vice Chairman, INTERCARGO
- Ioannis Kostoulas President, Mare Forum
- Zhongyi (John) Su President & CEO, Erasmus Shipinvest Group
- Arjun Batra Executive Chairman, Drewry Group
- Phrixos Papachristidis Chief Executive Officer Hellespont Group
- Caspar van Overklift Business Development & Manager ESG, ForestWave Navigation
- Bas de Jong President, TRANSHIP BULK
- Thijs Slavenburg Managing Partner, Zuyderzee Capital
- Geert Dokter CEO, CONOSHIP Intewrnational
- Pieter van der Burg Managing Director NESEC Fund Management
- Michiel Steeman Managing Partner. Zuyderzee Capital
- Harris Antoniou Founder & Managing Director, Neptune Maritime Leasing Ltd
‍- Michael de Visser ShipFinance Executive
- Maarten Sickler Director of Project Development, CONOSHIP
- Joost Bout Loan portfolio manager, NESEC
- Nurettin Caliskan President External Affairs Commission , Turkish Shipbuilders Association GISBIR
- Ed van Aalst Senior Relationship Manager, ABN AMRO Bank N.V.
- Marina Tzoutzouraki CFO and co-founder, eShipfinance.com
- Dagfinn Lunde Chairman and Co-founder, eShipfinance.com, DagMar Navigation Ltd and Chairman, Cleaves Securities AS
- Erik Witjens Chairman, Rotterdam Maritime Services Community RMSC
- Joep Gorgels CFO / CBDO – Chief Financial and Business Development Officer, EST- FLOATTECH
- Marjolein Van Noort Senior policy advisor, Royal Association of Netherlands' Shipowners
- Irene Rosberg Programme Director, Executive MBA in Shipping and Logistics (The Blue MBA), Copenhagen Business School
- Francesco Fuselli Managing Director, Banchero Costa & co
- Fabrizio Vettosi Managing Director, VSL Club SpA Investment & Advisory
- Rico Luman Senior Economist - research lead - global sector research
- Dimitris Lyras Managing Director, Ulysses Systems
- many more to confirm... stay tuned ‍
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P R O G R A M M E

Mainport Hotel, Rotterdam

08:00
Registration

09:00

Opening and Welcome

Organizer
Moderators
Keynote Speakers

09:30
session 1

Global Uncertainty - trade and shipping - Nothing is a given and certainly not predictable - Who is afraid of the future?    

- Geopolitics, tensions between Russia, China, Middle East, Europe and USA., immigration,  regionalisation vs globalisation, energy transition, changing trade patterns, and supply chain disruption.
- Digitalization:efficiency, data, digital broking, automated ships, Shipping, trade, smartports, management, data, interconnections- How about the EU taxonomy and other good and bad initiatives challenges or opportunities?

- Artificial intelligence; threats and opportunities.  
- Who is afraid of the future? 


SESSION CHAIRMAN:
- Eva Klein Ovink Executive Director Short Sea Shipping and Intermodal Coverage, ABN AMRO Bank
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DISCUSSION PANELLISTS:
To be announced soon

10:20
session 2

Where to invest your money today?  The voices of shipping analysts

Outlook of the shipping markets  
- What are the Shipping market forecasts for 2025 and beyond, and what are the shipping and trade opportunities today while sailing in unknown waters?  
Containers, coal, iron ore,agri-commodities, oil and gas, chemical and short sea shipping carriers

SESSION CHAIRMAN:
- Zhongyi (John) Su President & CEO, Erasmus Shipinvest Group
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DISCUSSION PANELLISTS:
To be announced soon

11:10
Break

11:40
session 3

Pioneering to infinity and beyond. The energy transition and energy security: Are we getting any closer, or are we taking one step ahead and two steps backwards?

- The energy production outlook
- Sense and nonsense about alternative fuels
- Alternative fuels production, capacities, rates, ports andinfrastructure.  
- How are alternative fuel suppliers preparing to provide carbon-neutral andzero-carbon fuels for shipping at scale?
- Will repair yards have the capacity to handle an upcoming wave of retrofits?How are they preparing for the challenge?
- What are the necessary changes in port infrastructure, and is there a plan ofimplementation by the relevant authorities? What are the key priorities?
- Can industry-wide initiatives, such as green corridors, accelerate theindustry’s transformation? What does it take for them to be successful?
- What can we do now to help accelerate the availability of zero-carbon shipswhile at the same time reducing shipping’s footprint: slow steaming, retrofits,ESG reporting, and verification
- New technologies, new ships, new ideas, Perceptions and realities
- Successful Decarbonization achieved - lessons to be learned  

SESSION CHAIRMAN:
To be announced soon
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DISCUSSION PANELLISTS:
To be announced soon

12:30
Lunch

13:40
session 3

Investing in People
The Human Capital Trends and Imperatives - realities, perceptions and views on the future

A Holistic Approach, dilemmas, and imperatives

- What are the views and dreams of the young generation on shipping andtrade?
- How can we facilitate new shipping pioneers ahead?
-How to facilitate Entrepreneurship?
- How to attract new talents in shipping
- What is the role of shipping and trading education institutes in the era ofsustainability?
- What are the trends in shipping management?
- Lessons to be learned

SESSION CHAIRMAN:
- Thijs Slavenburg Managing Partner, Zuyderzee Capital
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DISCUSSION PANELLISTS:
To be announced soon

14:30
session 5

The Capital Providers - Shipowners - Regulators, Dialogue:
Creating the right balance between regulations and market realities.
What are the Netherlands shipowners' and Capital Providers' strategiesfor the future?

- What is the role of charterers, shipowners, capital providers andregulators in the multi-relationship structure of their interests, focusing onsustainable and commercially viable shipping and trading industry?
- How about the EU taxonomy and other initiatives?
- How can the shipping industry be proactive to international regional and local regulations?
- Is the Green agenda in transition?
- Quality Shipping and the ESG agenda in progress. Are there incentives neededby the government and industry?

SESSION CHAIRMAN:
To be announced soon
‍
DISCUSSION PANELLISTS:
To be announced soon

15:20
Break

15:50
session 6

Where does the money come from to finance (green)ships, and how do you get it?
Funding short-sea shipping

Banking, and alternative ship finance, pros and contras.

- What are the trends in banking, alternative ship finance, bonds andother models of finance and investments on the way to decarbonisation?
- What will the future role of the Dutch European and global banks be in theindustry (in the context of the increased role of alternative financeproviders)?
- What are the benefits of the features of Alternative Finance to the globalshipping industry?
- Will the maritime green trend accelerate if the role of alternative financein shipping increases?
- Will alternative finance focus more on new-build financing or on second-handfinancing?
- Lending has become highly diverse; what are the most common alternativefinancing structures?
- What are the key performance criteria lenders evaluate when providing fundsto shipowners?

- What are the incentives from the government and the finance industryto renew European Short sea shipping?
- What are the shipowners' requirements?
- Can short sea shipping be considered sufficiently comparable to other typesof logistics physical infrastructure (highways, trains) and worthy of beingrecognized with the same support guaranteed by governments, EIB, MDBs?
- How to convince the capital providers to fund short sea ships?
- What is the role of governments and charterers?
- What insights do we have into the commercial viability of future shipdesigns?
- Who will take the investment risk on these technologies?
- Are there consolidations and acquisitions imperatives toward fleetsustainable modernisation?

SESSION CHAIRMAN:
- Pieter van der Burg Managing Director NESEC Fund Management
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DISCUSSION PANELLISTS:
To be announced soon

16:50
session 7

Conclusions and recommendations session

17:10 - 18:10

Drinks Reception