Renowned as the place to showcase special purpose ships and high-tech solutions, the much-anticipated event will be one of the first live international maritime conference and exhibitions in Europe since Covid-19.

Rotterdam Ahoy is delighted to announce Europort will return this year for its 40^th event, taking place from 2 – 5 November 2021 at the newly renovated Rotterdam Ahoy Convention Centre.

Raymond Siliakus, Exhibitions Manager at Rotterdam Ahoy, said: “We are thrilled to be welcoming the international maritime community back to Europort this year. The last 12 months have been very challenging as we have all had to adapt to a new normal. However, changing circumstances have also led to an increase in innovative thinking as we have needed to find new ways to work.

“I believe this puts the industry in a strong position to address the challenges we now face. The industry is embarking on a period of transformation and to reflect this, the Europort programme will address key challenges and opportunities, such as digitalization and energy transition. We encourage the whole maritime industry to join the conversation and be part of the transformative maritime dialogue Europort provided.”

Europort 2021 will focus on four key themes – Digitalization, Energy Transition, the Next Generation and Ship Finance – with a full programme of insightful and thought-provoking discussions and events to be announced. In addition to new attractions such as the Shipcon Shipathon, visitors can expect the return of popular events including the Europort Opening Summit, the Mare Forum Ship Finance Conference, Innovation Stage pitches, masterclasses from C-suite level captains of industry, business matchmaking, awards and networking.

Already, 85% of the exhibition space has been reserved, while a brand-new Rising Stars pavilion will showcase innovative, maritime technology start-ups. Many exhibitors from 28 different countries have already confirmed their participation; including well-known brands and new names.

Exhibitors and delegates will also benefit from recently completed renovations at the Rotterdam Ahoy Convention Centre which removes the need for temporary halls. Rotterdam Ahoy now offers a range of state-of-the-art exhibition and conference facilities. Siliakus adds that the renewal project has been achieved using techniques that reflect Europort 2021’s over-arching Sustainability theme.

“Ensuring all partners are aligned to create a sustainable event environment has been a vital consideration, given that sustainability runs through the event programme, whether the focus is on operations, ports, shipbuilding or ship financing,” he says. “The young maritime professionals pitching solutions to meet one of three sustainability challenges as part of Europort and YoungShip’s new Shipcon Shipathon initiative would expect nothing less.”

Rotterdam Ahoy has invested in a range of sustainability measures such as energy-saving geothermal technology, sound-proofing of exhibition halls, wastewater separation systems, service ware made from 100% recycled materials and locally sourced produce to reduce food miles.