This year Jonathan Lux had the privilege of speaking at the second edition of the Malta Maritime Summit. This was held over 4 and a half days from the 1st-5th of October in the capital city of Valletta. The conference consisted of intense debates surrounding the future of the shipping industry and the challenges it is currently facing.
The attendees were all experts from the industry, including shipowners, ship registration agents and ship repairers. The wide range of highly qualified, industry professionals present at the summit allowed for the event to explore a varying range of opinions surrounding the future of the shipping industry.
The topics covered over the four and a half days included:
Tuesday 2nd October → Maritime analysis, logistics and projections – The E.U. & The Rest of the World
Wednesday 3rd October → Maritime Environment, innovation and enforceability
Thursday 4th October → Maritime Finance, Taxation and sustainability
Friday 5th October → Yachting & Sea Tourism – Finance, Crewing, Marinas and Service providers
Our founder Jonathan Lux was invited to the summit to discuss dispute resolution where he guided the audience through its history. Beginning at trial by battle, to justice dispensed by the Sovereign, to litigation through the courts, to arbitration and ending with the range of processes falling under the acronym ADR. Jonathan’s talk received great feedback from the audience.
The outcome of the conference pointed to many changes needing to be made to the maritime industry in order to take it to the next millennial generation. In today’s technical world, digitalisation is triggering a revolution in the way that work is carried out within business. Therefore, it is more important than ever to set clear goals and guidelines in order for a business to thrive. The need for this was a unanimous feeling at the summit.
On the last day of the Malta Maritime Summit, the attendees agreed on three vital points that they believe need to be addressed in order for the maritime industry to prosper and continue to successfully grow in the future. These three points included:
- Green Policies
- Blockchain
- Cyber Security
It was also concluded that there were threats directly limiting the growth of the maritime industry, none of which were maritime strategies. These included climate change, the refugee crisis and Brexit.
As of yet, the future of the maritime industry is uncertain. However, it is an industry filled with professionals seeking a solution to increase its growth. By being able to identify the difficulties which the industry is facing at the moment, it is the first step towards future growth.
