POSIDONIA 2022
GREEK SHIPPING COMMUNITY EAGER TO HOST A WORLDWIDE AUDIENCE ONCE MORE powered by Inside Marine
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Event Preview Excitement builds for Posidonia 2022
GREEK SHIPPING COMMUNITY eager to host a worldwide audience once more
Event Managing Director Theodore Vokos
2022 is gearing up to be the year in which international trade shows return with a vengeance. And what better place to visit your first event in over two years than Posidonia 2022, hosted on the outskirts of Athens during the beautiful Greek summer time. Event Managing Director Theodore Vokos was asked by Daniel Barnes to put into words exactly what it means to the Greek shipping community to finally (we all hope!) welcome again the world’s finest maritime companies to Greek shores. After a difficult couple of years for everyone, it’s great to be looking forward to Posidonia once more. How appreciative are you, as organisers, to the understanding exhibitors and visitors have offered you during these challenging times? I see an optimism in the market and by June I believe things will be even more back to normal within the new Covid times we live in. As for exhibitors, we have been extremely lucky and thank them for their support and trust. I have to stress that 70% of our exhibitors from the postponed 2020 event have transferred their participation to 2022 – without any questions. But there are always new obstacles on the way and as you can understand the recent war in Ukraine will have some effect on Posidonia, which remains to be seen. So it has not been been smooth sailing so far for 2022. We are seeing a lot of interest. 87% of the space is booked at the moment; this is 10% up compared to this time before Posidonia 2018, which was the biggest exhibition in our history. How will the event differ from previous (pre-Covid) events? Posidonia 2022 will be a big exhibition no matter what and business will be done on the exhibition floor. It is a good time for the shipping market and one cannot risk missing out on Posidonia. But of course Covid will still be around, in one form or another, and this will affect how people engage with each other, so perhaps we might see fewer social events and more focused business meetings. 2
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Covid may mean that some companies will not send 10 people to cover their 30 sqm stand – they may only send five instead. But the companies will still be very strongly represented. Covid will impact participation from China, as quarantine rules for people returning back to China are expected to remain very stringent. However, the big Chinese exhibitors will be here, as they have local offices. It will be the smaller Chinese suppliers who will be having second thoughts. But in general, Posidonia 2022 will retain our very strong Asian participation. Japan, Korea and Singapore are all committed to national pavilions, and local Greek agents will also have the chance to represent Asian manufacturers who may not be able to commit in person. We are now carefully watching developments in the Ukraine, as we also have exhibitors from the region, and are in touch with them regarding their participation. They want to attend Posidonia, but of course if the war drags on this might not be possible. Let’s hope for the best and that the war will end as soon as possible. But the war high-
lights that nowadays we are living in a very volatile environment and a business must be on guard to face new, unexpected, challenges. From an administrative perspective for yourself and your team of organisers Theo, how much extra work has it taken to just get to this stage of organising an event compared to previous editions? Look, it has been a tough job for the team here because not only are they tasked with filling our exhibition space, they have so many more questions to answer than in pre-Covid times. ‘What are your safety protocols?’ ‘If I sneeze, where can I get checked?’ ‘What happens if I’m positive while in Greece?’ All these issues have to be addressed – and you have to be honest about it. We’ve realised that being completely honest with people and telling them what the situation in Greece is, and what we are doing to the best of our abilities in order to deal with any possible scenario, is gaining people’s trust and confidence to attend Posidonia 2022. The starting point is they want to come and they really want, or need, to attend. I think we’ve reached the point where virtual events have come to a saturation point. You don’t get the same return anymore from virtual events, people feel it. They want to meet the person. And this is shipping – it is a people industry. It’s an industry where you need to see or discuss the product. So there’s an urgency for the industry to come together. With companies arguably opting for a more cautious approach to the number of events they attend in the short term, what do you attribute Posidonia’s promising exhibitor figures down to?
The first argument is a no brainer: it’s the Greek shipping industry. It’s still the biggest fleet in the world, it’s the most modern fleet in the world, and it’s a fleet which keeps constantly investing in new products and new ships. The Greek shipping industry is always in the front line of new developments. On top of that, we are very lucky that we are riding the wave of a boom market. And you know, shipping freights at the moment are skyrocketing, especially in the container and the dry bulk markets. This generates a lot of cash for the Greek shipping community, which is mostly reinvested in ships. Whilst shipbuilding has been rather down in the last couple of years, the prices are still good and shipping companies do have the cash – and want to invest in building new ships or retrofitting existing ones. Environmental challenges are a very hot topic at the moment and one that will be discussed in length at Posidonia 2022. The simple fact is you can’t keep operating a ship the same way you did just a few years ago. The industry needs to invest in scrubbers, ballast water treatment systems, monitoring systems etc. Plus the digital revolution is here. There are many products which can make a shipping business more profitable – be it optimum data analytics on how to best choose the route for your ship, how to most efficiently load and unload it – so they have to keep investing, and they’re ready to invest and they have the money at the moment.So, if you’re selling anything shipping related, you have to be at Posidonia as this is where the market is. The second aspect is that Posidonia is one of the exhibitions which is most engaging. The shipping community comes together and shipowners reach out to exhibitors they meet face to face. There are a lot of social aspects to the exhibition, sporting events, Inside Marine
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Event Preview Excitement builds for Posidonia 2022
the Posidonia Games, which one way or the other will take place in accordance with all safety regulations in force at the time of the event. And last but not least, after having missed so many events, even foreign shipowners will come to Posidonia to meet the industry, because the biggest part of the market will be here. So it looks as good as can be expected right now. Speaking from experience, it does seem that Posidonia enjoys a more relaxed tone at the event, when compared to other shows. Is it the sunshine, Greek hospitality, or something you put in the water!? Each international exhibition also reflects cultural traits of the nation which hosts it, so Greek hospitality plays a role for sure – and the weather certainly helps! Greek shipping is built on long lasting relationships. You will find new products at the exhibition, but you also go to the exhibition to meet long standing partners and reinforce the relationship. So everyone starts from a positive attitude. For example, Greeks have been building ships in Japan since the 1950s – it’s a relationship valued both ways by both parties. And we look forward to meeting each other again. These feelings are felt across the entire exhibition floor. And you know, shipping is supposed to generate business and profit for everyone. How is Posidonia 2022’s conference and seminar programme shaping up?
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I’m very happy to say that we already have a good number of seminars already confirmed and the requests still keep coming in. People believe that, yes, in June, we will be able, again, to meet in a conference hall, perhaps with a little bit of a limited capacity, perhaps wearing masks. But we can get into the conference hall. We can talk to each other, and we can debate the issues, because there’s a lot of issues to be debated. The problem hosting such conferences virtually, as proven over the last few years, is it lacks engagement. Whatever features have been tried, they don’t have the same networking effect, and people don’t have the same attention span either. In virtual events, we have seen people logging in and logging out every 15 minutes. But with a physical programme, people will be fully engaged – and also benefit from that all important networking aspect – once more. Traditionally, we always start the conference programme with the TradeWinds Shipowners Forum, and this year will be no different as we carry on our long lasting partnership with TradeWinds. Seatrade is coming back after many years and they’re doing a major conference on Thursday, titled the Global Maritime Club Summit. Capital Link, which deals with financial aspects of the shipping community, is also hosting its traditional Monday conference, and HELMEPA (Hellenic Marine Environment Protection Association), which is supported by the Greek shipping community, will also play a key role. We also have content arranged by the Union of Greek Shipowners, classification societies, and a number of seminars are being organised by national pavilions including the Japanese, Korean, and the Polish participations.
This was the only virtual event we held and it had huge attendance in May 2021. We are always looking at other ways to utilise our brand, but for us, it is crucial to protect the Greek aspect of it – we won’t extend the event to other international locations, which is something other trade show organisers have attempted in the past with limited success. After all, the name Posidonia itself is derived from the Greek God Poseidon. It is a great brand, we value that, we protect it and I think the market respects our decision. As a family business, Theo, Posidonia seemingly runs in your veins. How long have you been part of the event now? I’ve been part of Posidonia since 2003. When you compare me to my counterparts at the likes of SMM and Nor-Shipping, I’m certainly considered an old-timer in the shipping exhibitions industry. But of course, it’s also a family business, like most things in Greek shipping. Posidonia was founded by my grandfather and my uncle in the 1960s. Our track record over the years proves that we manage to deliver and always strive to provide our exhibitors and the international shipping community the best possible event. If you’ve been around for a while, and keep on delivering, the industry will reward you with its trust. On a personal level, what are you most looking forward to about this year’s upcoming event? Getting back to basics, first of all; I’m looking forward to Posidonia simply taking place. I’m still waiting for the moment when we cut the ribbon and just welcome everyone through the doors. The second thing I’m looking forward to is happy people. Many people genuinely enjoy attending Posidonia – and Posidonia taking place in Greece, in the summer, of course helps. I would really like to see Posidonia become one of the first major events which brings the shipping community from all around the world back together, after two years of separation. But the bottom line is that business needs to keep going. We need to see the industry tackle the challenges it is facing. And, of course, Posidonia can help in this regard, and stimulate discussions and act a little bit as the catalyst which will take the shipping industry further. This always helps. This will mean that we have achieved our goal.
And finally, what is your overarching message to those amongst the Inside Marine readership that are still undecided about attending Posidonia 2022? First of all, evaluate the situation both in Greece and your home country to see how safe it is to travel. It looks like the Covid situation will be more or less under control this summer and safety regulations are relaxing a bit around the world. Many of us will be able to travel as safely as possible within the new environment we live in. In my opinion, the shipping community needs to travel and to meet again. In shipping, if you do not keep up with developments, you’re left behind. That’s unfortunately true. The market changes, products change, services change, technology changes. The only way to really keep up with all the changes is to go to exhibitions. Meet the suppliers. Meet the people who drive the change. Meet the Greek shipping community who looks forward to welcoming everyone who forms part of the global supply chain. The world depends on shipping to keep the world going. Even during the toughest times of this pandemic when everything was closed, shipping kept going despite all the obstacles – and I don’t think shipping has gotten enough credit for it. The fact that whatever you ordered online – from your office or your home – got delivered to your door, proved that shipping was there. And to safeguard this credibility of the shipping industry, the industry needs to come together to take it further. n
If it’s possible to think mid- to long-term at this moment in time, how do you envisage the Posidonia brand developing in the years ahead? Brands have to always grow. And this is why 10 years ago we launched a second event, the Posidonia Sea Tourism Forum, which focuses mainly on cruising, yachting and passenger shipping. Inside Marine
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