European Sea Ports Organisation Conference Postponed to May 2021 with Venue Still in Norway

27th April 2020

ESPO's Conference for this year has been postposed to May 202I though the venue is still scheduled to be hosted by the Port of Oslo, Norway where in this file photo above in the foreground a ferry and cruiseship are berthed. AFLOAT has identified these vessels, on the left is Danish ferry operator's DFDS's Crown Seaways however the ship's route between the Nordic capital and Copenhagen, Denmark is currently not operating due to Covid-19. As for the other vessel, this is the German cruise firm Pheonix Reisen's Albatros. Credit: Oslo Havn KF (Port of Oslo) -twitter

The European Sea Ports Organisation (ESPO) regret to inform that they feel obliged to cancel their Conference 2020, which was due to take place in one month in Oslo, Norway.

ESPO commented that this was a tough decision but in view of the current situation of the spread of Covid-19 among Europe and the different travel bans that will probably still be in place in May, in Norway as well as in many other EU Member States.

This being said, we would like to inform you that we will postpone our annual event to 2021, same place, same period! Pin the date in your calendar: 27 – 28 May 2021! With the Port of Oslo, we are really in good hands and we will keep all the good ideas of this year’s edition for 2021 and make it an even stronger version.

Ingvar M. Mathisen, Port Director/CEO of the Port of Oslo said: “ESPO 2020 is postponed, but not cancelled! We were really looking forward to hosting this conference and it is a pity that you will miss all the excellent speakers, but we will be back. We hope to see you all in Oslo next year end of May for an even better programme and networking event for the European ports.”

“We deeply regret that this annual tradition and gathering of European ports and the European port industry cannot take place this year. Since ESPO Conferences must be open and accessible for all ports and port stakeholders from all over Europe, which cannot be guaranteed in the next months, we decided to postpone the event to 2021. Moreover, in most European ports, it is now also all hands on deck to play their critical role in the supply chain and try to overcome this health and economic crisis. So, first things first. We are happy that a new date has been set already and that the Port of Oslo remains our enthusiastic host. We sincerely hope to see all our members, participants and ports back in Oslo in good health. We promise you a Conference edition that counts for two! In the meantime, we wish you all the strength and courage to overcome this difficult period,” said Isabelle Ryckbost, ESPO Secretary General.

For the participants who had already registered for this year’s edition, you can contact Mrs Braekke from the Port of Oslo email: [email protected].

The theme, programme and practical information for next year’s edition will be disseminated in early 2021 through the official conference website.

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Jehan Ashmore

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Jehan Ashmore is a marine correspondent, researcher and photographer, specialising in Irish ports, shipping and the ferry sector serving the UK and directly to mainland Europe. Jehan also occasionally writes a column, 'Maritime' Dalkey for the (Dalkey Community Council Newsletter) in addition to contributing to UK marine periodicals.

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