World maritime experts to gather in Lingang

A research report on navigation in the South China Sea will be released at the 2019 World Maritime Conference in Shanghai's Lingang area this weekend.

The report, the third edition in a series, describes the actual situation of the South China Sea, said Huang Youfang, president of Shanghai Maritime University.

Huang, also director of China Institution of Navigation, said the report is part of efforts to ensure the security of commercial navigation in the waters.

China Institute of Navigation and Shanghai Maritime University jointly set up a research center devoted to global navigation conditions last year, with the intention to carry out regular studies on global marine hot spots.

Together with the issuance of the report, more than 400 maritime experts, scholars, institutional representatives and entrepreneurs from nearly 30 countries and regions will be present at the three-day World Maritime Conference from Sunday.

Themed “New Era, New Technology, New Maritime,” it will be the first international academic conference held in the Lingang Special Area of the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone.

The conference will include 13 forums and more than 100 keynote speeches. These will cover hot topics and major developments in world maritime economics, shipping and management, intelligent shipping, maritime law and other fields.

Conference organizers have invited Eric Maskin, the 2007 Nobel Prize winner in economics, and Danny Shechtman, the 2011 Nobel Prize winner in chemistry, to give speeches.

The two Nobel laureates will hold talks with maritime experts, scholars and entrepreneurs on blockchain technology, chemistry and shipping safety.

China is on its way to becoming a global maritime giant, with the world’s largest annual shipbuilding capacity and the world’s largest throughput.

China owns seven of the world’s top 10 ports and has served as a member of the International Maritime Organization on 15 consecutive occasions.