Bilbao Exhibition Centre will host the fifth edition of World Maritime Week from 19 to 21 March, at a time of great opportunities and challenges for the global maritime industry. The event, which is already a benchmark gathering for the shipping (Sinaval), fishing (EuroFishing), port (FuturePort) and marine renewable energy (Marine Energy Week) sectors, will once again combine a comprehensive conference programme with an exhibition area and numerous networking opportunities, including the Hosted Buyers’ Programme.

WORKinn For WMW will also be presented this year for the first time; it is a space designed to arouse the interest of young people in finding employment in the maritime sector, to reduce the gap between companies’ needs and the lack of qualified training for people, and to address the challenge of generational change. In this edition, all the programme’s activities will take place in the Luxua pavilion with the aim of facilitating the interaction between the participants.

World Maritime Week has been awarded the Erronka Garbia seal, which indicates that events are sustainable and environmentally friendly. This is an important stage in the recognition process, which the organising team expects to complete within the next few weeks. The certification, which is awarded by Ihobe, the Basque Government’s Public Environmental Management Company, acknowledges the efforts being made by Bilbao Exhibition Centre in the field of sustainability, one of the pillars of its strategic plan.

The opening ceremony will take place on Wednesday 19th and will be led by Mikel Jauregi, the Basque Regional Minister of Industry, Energy Transition and Sustainability. Xabier Basañez, the General Manager of Bilbao Exhibition Centre; Ainara Basurko, the Regional Minister for Economic Development of the Provincial Council of Biscay; and Amaia Barredo, the Regional Minister of Food, Rural Development, Agriculture and Fisheries of the Basque Government, will also attend this session, which is due to start at 10.30 am.

4 conferences with around 70 globally renowned speakers

The WMW conference programme will once again combine specific sessions on the four sectors with cross-cutting sessions relevant to the whole industry. Around 70 experts will lead these sessions. Through keynote speeches, presentations, and round tables, where high-level professionals from leading Spanish and international companies will participate, conference participants will be able to take part in the debate that will set the trends in the industry.

Both days will begin with keynote speeches presented by long-standing and renowned professionals in the industry. Polyvios Eliofotou, an Expert in the Cabinet of Commissioner Kadis and European Commissioner for Fisheries and Oceans at the European Commission, and Xabier Viteri, the Director of Renewable Energy at Iberdrola, will present on the first day. On the second day, these special presentations will be given by Jaap Gebraad, the Secretary General of Waterborne Technology Platform and Aitor Arzuaga, General Manager of Alba Emission Free Energy (Petronor).

Sinaval will host professionals from the naval sector who will discuss topics such as public-private collaboration and R&D financing during the sectoral sessions. For its part, the fishing industry will meet around EuroFishing. The presentations on the fishing industry will focus on the analysis and discussion of Blue Protein as a food security and food sovereignty issue.

The Futureport port conference will focus on four key concepts: digitalisation, cybersecurity, sustainability, and decarbonisation. There will be a fourth conference, Marine Energy Week, which will bring together experts in marine renewable energies to discuss technological advances in floating wind and ocean energy and the assault on markets in these sectors.

Expo Zone: leading companies on five continents

The area of the Luxua pavilion dedicated to exhibiting companies will host the latest products and services from 53 international firms. This area will feature major industry leaders such as Astilleros Armon (Asturias), Astilleros Gondán (Asturias), Astilleros de Murueta (Basque Country), Bergen Engines (Norway), Bombas Azcue (Basque Country), Cintranaval (Basque Country), Coterena (Galicia), GEA Westfalia (Germany), Palfinger Marine (Madrid), Panelship (Galicia), Rings Around The World (USA.), Sintemar (Basque Country), VES Renewable/VINCI Energies España and Vulkan EspañolaBasque CountryBasque CountryBasque CountryBasque CountryBasque CountryBasque CountryBasque CountryBasque CountryBasque CountryBasque CountryBasque Country, among many others. These firms, institutions, and associations with great weight in the industry, such as the Basque Government, the Energy Cluster, the Basque Maritime Forum, and UniportBilbao, will also be exhibiting.

The Expo Zone will also host the Innovation Workshops, which will feature agile presentations with the latest in technological innovations, case studies, and the best solutions in the maritime sector from exhibiting and sponsoring companies. There attendees can learn about the offerings of companies and entities such as Ferri, H2Site, Idasa, Isati, OilKontrol and Tecnalia through these interventions.

Extensive networking programme

The Hosted Buyers’ Programme will again be one of the main attractions of WMW. This initiative takes into consideration the requests of the exhibiting companies themselves, guaranteeing the presence of Spanish and international shipowners, shipping lines and shipyards with which B2B meetings are guaranteed. Thus, it is worth pointing out that professionals from countries like Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Poland, the United Kingdom, Turkey and Uruguay participated in the event. In addition, companies such as Navantia, Suardiaz Group and the Spanish Navy will be representatives of the Spanish industry.

For its part, the second edition of the WMW Awards will recognise the excellence and achievements of agents who drive the maritime sector forward. At the ceremony, four awards will be presented, one for each sector represented, as well as a special recognition for the trajectory of a company. The event will take place at the BEC’s Torre Restaurant at the end of the first day, at a cocktail party with live music and senior executives from the leading companies in the industry.

The final day of the event will also focus on Technical Visits. It will be a unique opportunity to establish a closer relationship with the business network of the maritime sector and the daily work of the participating firms, as well as promoting the exchange of ideas and helping to strengthen business connections. Two blocks of visits will be organised: one on Shipbuilding (Wärstilä and Navacel) and one on Energy and Ports (Bilbao Port Authority and Tecnalia)

WORKinn, a comprehensive space for talent

WORKinn Talent Hub is a cross-cutting project held at the Bilbao Exhibition Centre’s professional trade fairs. For this reason, for the first time, World Maritime Week will include WORKinn For WMW, an event designed to be a meeting point for talent, companies and organisations in the maritime industry. It will be held on 20 March, from 9.00 to 14.30, and will offer interested parties the opportunity to use virtual navigation and welding simulators, access job offers and receive information and advice on specialist educational programmes.

The space, which is co-organised with AFM, is structured into three key areas: Inspire Zone, which features simulators, augmented reality and demonstrations; Networking Zone, which has job offers and representatives of companies and training centres in the sector; and Learn Zone, where you can learn about studies, trends and projects that will shape the future of the industry.

The participating training centres, institutions and companies include the following: Adecco, Antiguako Ama Itsas Arrantza Eskola, Asoc. Vizcaina Capitanes Marina Mercante, Autoridad Portuaria de Bilbao, CIFP Náutico-Pesquera de Bermeo, Cintranaval, Foro Marítimo Vasco, FP Santurtzi LH, Instituto Social de la Marina (ISM), Isati, MAVI Formación, Pevasa, Siport 21 and Trafag.

WORLD MARITIME WEEK is organised by Bilbao Exhibition Centre with the support of the Basque Government, the SPRI group, and the Provincial Council of Biscay as institutional partners and the Basque Energy Cluster, the Basque Maritime Forum and Uniport Bilbao as sectoral partners.