For immediate release
Antwerp and London, 4 March 2020
The International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH) regrets to announce the cancellation of the IAPH 2020 World Ports Conference, which was due to be held between 17-19 March in Antwerp, Belgium.
Given the spread of COVID-19 it has been necessary to cancel in the interests of the health & safety of speakers, sponsors and attendees. In addition, the recent increase in the number of speakers and participants impacted by immediate travel restrictions by their organizations influenced this decision.
In recognition of the work that has gone into preparations for the event, other sponsors, speakers, colleagues and participants were also approached to share their views and opinions prior to the decision being made.
We shall announce if it is feasible to postpone the event to another date in 2020 as soon as possible and make arrangements for re-arranging or refunding registrations and sponsorships.
IAPH’s President Mr. Santiago Garcia Milà commented:
“We are very sad about having to cancel the event. We took the joint decision out of concern for the well being of all our participants. This is not just about health and safety concerns around the coronavirus. It’s also about how comfortable all our guests, presenters and colleagues feel about attending the conference at this current point in time.
In recent days, we have also been receiving an increasing number of notifications from speakers and panelists of non-essential travel bans being implemented in their organizations. We can only expect this to increase in the coming days and weeks.”
IAPH’s Managing Director Patrick Verhoeven added:
“With over 450 delegates registered and speakers and experts already preparing for over 30 industry sessions, our wish is that everyone – without exception – can enjoy the conference and get the most out of their participation. For this reason, we are working to determine the viability of rescheduling this year.
Our conference partner IHS Markit has advised us already that attendees who have registered for this year’s conference will be able to use their registration for the new date. Those who cannot come will be refunded.
Equally, we very much hope the speakers, panelists, presenters and facilitators currently on the agenda will be able to join us at a later date to share with us the work they have already put in to making the IAPH World Ports Conference such a popular choice.”
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