Representatives from Asia, Africa and Europe will meet in Sri Lanka in a weeks time to discuss key issues affecting shipping on an international level.

The annual meeting of the The Global Shippers’ Forum (GSF) will take placeon 28 and 29 July in Colombo, when they meet they will discuss a number of topics including mega ships and alliances, container weight verification, carrier surcharges and trade facilitation, shipping and air transport emissions and air cargo issues.

This event will be hosted by the Sri Lankan Shippers’ Council and features prominent contributors such as Edmund Hughes from the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) and Djibo Boubacar, Director of the Air Transport Bureau at the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

Chris Welsh said: “we are also honoured that Mr. Wickremesinghe, Prime Minister of Sri Lanka and the Sri Lanka Minister of Ports, Shipping and Aviation, Hon. Mr. Ranatunga will be attending the Sri Lanka 50th Anniversary and GSF Gala Dinner”.

“There are some really crucial issues that we’ll be exploring in detail, not only for those who ship by sea but also concerning air cargo. The restrictions on transporting lithium batteries on passenger planes and the ban on direct flights from Bangladesh to the UK will be high on the agenda as will be the new emerging market structure for liner shipping and its impacts on shippers.

“IMO’s new container weighing rules which came into force on 1 July and the impact on competition of mega ships and alliances will also be hot topics of discussion – it promises to be a busy couple of days!”

Other representatives include household names such as Marks and Spencer and other global shippers, participating in key sessions via tel-conferencing facilities also.