Posidonia, the Home of Shipping has reopened its doors to a great reception from the global maritime community who will be hoping for them to never be shut again.
Could Posidonia 2024 be even bigger and more influential than what the global maritime community witnessed unfolding last week at the Metropolitan Exhibition Centre just a short drive from the Athens International Airport?
Well, barring another cataclysmic world event such as the Covid-19 pandemic, the answer should be a resounding, ‘Yes of course!’
And why not? With 1,964 exhibiting companies from 88 countries and some 29,000 visitors from 103 countries and territories who flooded the exhibition and conference rooms to their rims, this year’s event set new benchmarks and standards for volume, size and quality that makes Posidonia organisers confident that potential for further growth will always be there. The number of overall participants, including exhibitors, visitors and press exceeded the 40,000 people mark.
With these fundamentals intact and even stronger compared to the 2018 event and with the absence of many Asian and mainly Chinese visitors who could not have attended this year’s event due to Covid-19 related travel restrictions, the assumption of an even greater 2024 event is a credible one.
“Our challenge for this year was to resume the event and rediscover the momentum lost during the height of the pandemic. I think we did a pretty good job, to not only achieve both of our basic objectives for the event, but to also set the bar even higher for the future,” said Theodore Vokos, Managing Director, Posidonia Exhibitions S.A.
“The response and feedback we received from exhibitors, visitors, government officials and maritime stakeholders was overwhelmingly buoyant. The four-year gap brought even more energy and a renewed optimism everywhere you’d look at and all indications are that the industry will continue to support Posidonia for years to come.”
The type of exhibitor feedback ranged from admiration to gratitude. In the words of Richa Dutt Nandan, Marketing Manager, Varuna Marine Services, Posidonia 2022 was “a series of conversations between shipowners and service providers, the class and the flag states, the associations and organizations, the design, and the innovation. A melting pot for traditions, ideas and innovations brought in by thousands of worldwide companies and professionals.”
Others sounded even poetic in the way they shared their praises for the event: “Posidonia 2022 came as a much-needed rainfall to quench the thirst of the shipping industry and its people caused by the four-year pandemic-induced drought,” said shipping industry reporter Minas Tsamopoulos. In the words of Sam Chambers, editor, Splash this year’s Posidonia was “the coming out party of the international shipping community. The lights, the noise, the people – it was rammed at Posidonia wherever you went.”
And some were astounded by the record numbers: “It was great to see Posidonia back, bigger and better than ever. Record numbers of visitors and exhibitors. It gave us a great opportunity to see our clients face to face after such a long time in lockdown. Gulf Oil Marine will continue to support the Greek shipping community and we will look forward to the next Posidonia,” said David Price, CEO Gulf Oil Marine.
Vokos added: “Posidonia is the industry’s bellwether, a totem of status, prestige and authentic maritime heritage, and as such it will always remain resolute in its commitment to carry on its mission to help everyone in shipping set their course, navigate and communicate effectively for years and years to come.”
Posidonia is organised under the auspices of the Ministry of Maritime Affairs & Insular Policy, the Union of Greek Shipowners and the Hellenic Chamber of Shipping and with the support of the Municipality of Piraeus and the Greek Shipping Co-operation Committee.
By: N. Peter Kramer
