COLOMBO FEBRUARY 2012
GIL DELIVER KEYNOTE AT SRI LANKA INSTITUTE OF SHIPBROKERS 25TH ANNIVERSARY SEMINAR
Sri Lanka’s plans to become a logistics hub stand to gain from the shift in Asian manufacturing from China to countries like Vietnam that could yield more cargo for ports like Colombo.Shipping lines were shifting services using large container ships to connect ports on the US east coast through the Suez canal to Asia.The reason the Suez is becoming attractive is that factories are migrating out of locations like Guangzhou, a key transportation hub and trading port in China, to places like Vietnam.
Joining Mr. Ring to speak at the seminar were Mr. Tony Dixon (Chairman of ICS and Director of Braemer Seascope Ltd.) and Dr. Parakrama Dissanayake Chairman/CEO of Aitken Spence Maritime, Chairman of Ace Cargo and Director of Aitken Spence PLC). The title of M. Rings speech was PEOPLE TAKE HOLIDAYS, CARGO TAKES LOGISTICS and included on the results of GIl’s research explaining how port communities are significantly changing so it can accommodate for full integration into the global supply chain.
“We need to create a global logistics orchestra fit for purpose.” The port authority will be the key play that will get different players and services linked to the port together and act as coordinator in future, he said.The movement of cargo in future will have to become more like holiday travel by tourists, with smooth transits between different nodes in the supply chain and guaranteed delivery times”
KIERAN RING CEO GIL
The key points from Mr. Ring’s Speech speech included:
- Logistics is becoming increasingly important in globalization, increasing international trade and the emergence of manufacturing supply chains spread across several countries.
- Logistics Systems are the arteries of this commerce – it is through these arteries that trade will flow and grow.
- Ports, previously seen as “black holes” into which cargo disappeared, are becoming vital “global nodes” in these supply chains.
- Logistics is like an orchestra in which the container terminal operator plays a key role.
ABOUT SRI LANKA INSTITUTE OF CHARTERED SHIPBROKERS 25TH ANNIVERSARY
The Sri Lanka Branch of the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers, United Kingdom has grown in stature and matured to celebrate twenty five years of existence and unstinted service to the local maritime industry, in grooming the shipping professionals of tomorrow. The Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers’ (ICS — UK) which was founded in 1911 and obtained the `Royal Charter’ in 1921, is one of the oldest professional institutions existing for a period of one hundred years, during which time it has grown in stature having expanded with a network of Branches spread over the different continents.
It is widely accepted as the only professional body that sets the highest standards of professional service to the shipping industry the world over. Significantly, the `Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers — UK’ celebrated its centenary in Greenwich, London in May last year in grand scale. Following this, the various ICS Branches spread globally continued the `Centenary Celebrations’ in their own locality at different scales, culminating for the present moment with the Chennai Centenary Celebrations followed by a twoday International Seminar, in November 2011.
The Sri Lanka Branch has taken it upon itself to commemorate the ICS Centenary together with its own 25th Anniversary on the 09th and 10th of February 2012.
