SMM Offshore Dialogue: Future Prospects

01 Aug 2016 11:52 Economy

High-caliber speakers, forward-looking topics, innovative solutions: On 8 September 2016, the offshore sector will meet during SMM, the leading international maritime trade fair.

It has been barely two years since the crude oil price hit rock bottom and the offshore industry, especially the oil and gas segment, suffered a severe blow. Since then business has been more or less stagnant. The super majors have cut investments. Shipbuilders, suppliers and associated services are largely sitting idle. But there are new signs of a possible upward trend: The 2016 "Offshore Support Vessel Global Market Outlook” published by the Indian market research organisation Wise Guy Reports expects the Offshore Supply Vessel (OSV) market to grow 5.7 per cent annually, reaching a volume of US$43.07 billion by 2022.

It is especially the wind energy and subsea mining segments which are raising the shipbuilding industry's hopes. Both are in great need of specialised ships and advanced technologies. But what exactly does the market need to take off? What conditions must be met for the upswing to come? And how does Digitalisation figure in this equation? SMM, the leading international maritime trade fair which will be held from 6 to 9 September 2016 at the Hamburg fair complex, will give answers to these and many other questions. Its "Offshore Dialogue" conference on 8 September will spend an entire day looking into these matters, with high-caliber speakers from the business and science worlds leading the discussion. The keynote speaker will be Steve Robertson, Director – HQ & Research Centre at Douglas-Westwood. To register for the conference please go to: www.smm-hamburg.com/programm/offshore-dialogue/.

Innovation wanted

"It is only through the most innovative technologies that we will be able to secure our leading international position and enter into emerging markets successfully," says Uwe Beckmeyer, Parliamentary Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) which is sponsoring the conference. "It is our goal to support the maritime sector in developing new technologies which are economically attractive. To accomplish this, the maritime industry must cooperate closely with the offshore wind sector and the scientific community," the Federal Government Coordinator for the Maritime Industry continues. He will open the conference with a keynote address.

Focus on forward-looking topics

The conference on 8 September will be titled "Offshore industry – quo vadis?” and consist of three panel discussions. The first segment, headed “Subsea Technology – Experience and Challenges”, will address prospects of subsea mining and subsea gas installations. Remotely operated towed seafloor vehicles will be presented – machines towed by surface craft. They represent an alternative approach to mining raw materials from subsea deposits. Another key technology to be discussed during the conference are heavy-lift cranes. The featured speakers include: Baard Alsaker, Vice President, R&D and Technology at MacGregor, a global offshore supplier, and Basil Zweifel, Segment Head of Oil & Gas Production, MAN.
 
The section “Health, Safety & Environment – The Human Factor” will focus on specialised offshore vessels promising enhanced safety at sea. Is it possible to leverage synergies between HSE standards of the oil and gas and offshore wind industries? The panel discussion will also address specialised training for employees working in the demanding offshore sector, as well as the question whether offshore work will be performed from fixed platforms or service vessels in future. Sybrand Boschma, offshore specialist at the Dutch shipbuilding group Damen, and Michael McDonald, General Manager at the leading technology consultancy “Force” headquartered in Denmark, will provide valuable insight.
 
The third expert panel, titled “Digitalisation offshore 4.0 – Challenge and Opportunity”, will explore some future perspectives for the industry. Big Data, smart maintenance concepts, optimised logistics for offshore wind farms, and cyber security for the offshore sector will be key items on the agenda. Juan Gallego, remote diagnostics expert at the Swedish component manufacturer SKF, will represent the practical side. The scientific aspects will be covered by Prof. Dr-Ing. Carlos Jahn, head of the Fraunhofer Center for Maritime Logistics and Services, as a top-level expert. Kenneth Richardson, Executive Vice President, Global Offshore, ABS will share his views from the perspective of a leading classification society. Dedicated specifically to suppliers and stakeholders of the offshore wind energy sector, the WindEnergy Hamburg trade fair will take place at the Hamburg Messe fair site from 27 to 30 September 2016. For further Information please visit: www.windenergyhamburg.com.
 
About SMM
The leading international maritime trade fair takes place in Hamburg every two years. More than 2.100 exhibitors and roughly 50,000 visitors are expected to attend the trade fair in the famous port city from 6 to 9 September 2016. SMM covers all segments of the maritime value chain, bringing together decision-makers from around the world and highlighting innovative technology. For further Information please visit: www.smm-hamburg.com

 

SMM Offshore Dialogue: Future Prospects

Press contact

Hamburg Messe und Congress
Lorenz Eichhorn
phone: +49 40 3569 2439
email: lorenz.eichhorn@hamburg-messe.de