Icomia Congress News

The 2013 ICOMIA/IFBSO Congress was held in London, United Kingdom from June 11-14,  2013 and was hosted and organized by the British Marine Federation (BMF) at Devonport House, located in London’s exclusive Royal Greenwich, a World Heritage Site. The first two days of Congress consisted of various committee meetings including the first gathering of ICOMIA’s new committees: "Grow Boating," which examines current campaigns dedicated to growing recreational boating globally and the "Exporters Committee," which provides members a forum to share knowledge on export markets, discuss import regulations and exchange information on overseas boat/trade show experiences.

It is with deep sadness and regret we report that Mr Björn Lagerkvist, former President of the International Council of Marine Industry Associations (ICOMIA) passed away on Friday 1 March 2013 after a long-suffering illness. Mr Lagerkvist was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Swedish marine industry association Sweboat in 1975 and attended his first ICOMIA Congress in Oslo that same year – consecutively attending Congress for the next 37-years. In 1978, Mr Lagerkvist joined the ICOMIA Executive Committee…

After registration, delegates were taken on industry site visits to view rig designers, Southern Spars; large sailing-yacht builders, Southern Wind Shipyard, and the state-of-the-art facilities at Quantum Sails, which produce sails for multihulls and keelboats. Two more industry visits followed at catamaran builders Robertson and Caine and Two Oceans Marine. Congress commenced on Wednesday 18 April, and consisted of various committee meetings and the annual ICOMIA/IFBSO Joint Session was held on the Friday. The key note speakers were Michael Lalor of Ernst and Young, who spoke about the African market; Liesl Nel of Moorings, who gave a presentation on the global charter market…