Maritime London runs inaugural UK-China Shipping Forum in Shanghai
Maritime London, the industry-led body representing maritime professional services in the UK, held the inaugural UK-China Shipping Forum, as part of the Pudong International Shipping Week 2025, at Jinmao Tower in Shanghai yesterday.
The UK-China Maritime Forum provided a platform to discuss how the industry has responded to current commercial and regulatory environment and the practical solutions to the industry’s decarbonisation. Maritime London’s Chief Executive Jos Standerwick commented: ‘Most importantly, the event was a physical example of how China and the UK can collaborate.”
Organised in partnership with Silverstream, a London-based maritime clean technology company specialising in hull air lubrication, the event was supported by the UK Department for Business & Trade, Beyond Shipping, China Shipping Association of London and Xinde Marine.
Henry Oliver, Deputy Head of Civil Maritime at the UK Department for Business & Trade welcomed the audience, passing the floor to Ms Liu Xiaodan, Director of Shipping Service Department of Shanghai Pudong New Area Commission of Commerce, who delivered an Opening address.
Xu Chen, Assistant Director, Transportation Logistics Research Centre, Xinhua Indices, delivered a presentation on how the world's leading international shipping centres are ranked according to the Xinhua-Baltic International Shipping Centre Development Index (ISCDI).
Mark Assaf, Chief of Human Resources Development, TRAINFORTRADE at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), summarised the findings of the latest edition of the Maritime Transport report 2025 Report published annually by UNCTAD.
Speakers at the ‘Navigating regulatory and trade uncertainties’ panel included Mark Assaf, Chief of Human Resources Development, TRAINFORTRADE, UNCTAD; Jin Yu Cheong, Head of Asia Baltic Exchange; Janice Lee, Partner at Hill Dickinson Hong Kong; and Vineet Puri, Head, Global Shipping & Logistics, Asia Pacific, Citi.
The panel explored how freight markets, the contractual landscape, asset financing and the maritime labour force have responded to the increasingly complex trading and regulatory landscape.
The second session focused on how Energy Efficiency Technologies (EETs) bridge the transition to alternative fuels, enhance vessel performance, and reshape commercial relationships through shared efficiency gains, and importantly, extend the commercial lives of assets in a tight freight market.
Moderated by Guy Platten, Advisor, Non-Executive Director and former Secretary General, International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), the panel included Dimitris N. Monioudis, Chairman – Technical Committee of Intercargo; Noah Silberschmidt, Founder and CEO of Silverstream Technologies; Nikos Tsatsaros, Head of China Technical Performance Group at Lloyd's Register; and Zhang Zhuo, Deputy Director, Ship Type Expert, Senior Naval Architect at CSSC Innovation Center (SDARI).
The event concluded with a networking reception.