Back

London International Shipping Week 2021

Posted: 13 September 2021

London International Shipping Week 2021 (LISW21) is seen throughout the world as the ‘must attend’ international maritime event of the year. London is the historic centre of global trade and world shipping and stands at the heart of international commerce. Its long-standing maritime institutions have been servicing the global shipping industry for centuries and that role continues today.

That is why an estimated 20,000 shipowners, shipbrokers, shippers, ports and terminals, lawyers and insurers, politicians, government regulators and a whole cast of maritime professionals are flocking to Britain’s thriving capital, both in-person and virtually, to celebrate LISW21. This is the fifth time this momentous maritime gathering has been staged, having grown exponentially since its launch in 2013.

This year’s theme of ‘Driving growth and recovery in a disrupted world’ will bring together the important pillars of Environment, Social and Governance and their drivers of finance, innovation, people, trade and technology. These themes and sub-themes will be uppermost in the minds of the thousands who have registered to attend the 160 or so events spread all over London, in some of the most iconic venues in the world, including the London Stock Exchange.

ISW2021

London can be considered the beating heart of international shipping, but it is also the gateway for the wider UK to demonstrate to an international market its strength as a leader in innovation across decarbonisation, automation and digitation.

Quoted in the official LISW21 Event Guide, the Rt Hon. Grant Shapps MP, Secretary of State for Transport, said:

“It’s hard to believe that the last event was already two years ago, where so many of us gathered to meet, experience all the week had to offer and network so freely and easily.

“Since that event in 2019, globally we have all been affected by the devastating effects of the Coronavirus pandemic. There hasn’t been a single country that hasn’t felt the effects on their commercial and social sectors, but as we emerge, we can reflect.

“The pandemic brought its own challenges: pressure on global supply chains, demand for medicines and equipment, and restrictions on free movement. Rapid and unprecedented changes affected all of us for a prolonged and challenging period.

“But what the pandemic also highlighted was our reliance on maritime trade, our resilience in keeping freight moving and of course, the critical work done by our community of global seafarers. LISW really helps countries to come together and discuss the big issues which we all face. I hope we are able to find some solutions to common problems this week”

LISW was created and is managed by Shipping Innovation – a joint venture between Elaborate Communications and Petrospot – and organised by a dynamic delivery group comprising the Department for Transport, Maritime UK and Shipping Innovation, in association with the Baltic Exchange, British Ports Association, Maritime London, Society of Maritime Industries, UK Chamber of Shipping and the UK Major Ports Group.