The first day of THE WEEK Maritime Conclave 2025 saw a better-than-expected number of industry stakeholders, partners in the sector, naval cadets, students, and policymakers gather at The Crowne Plaza in Kochi, Kerala.
What began as a 300-seater summit headlining experts and industry veterans saw close to 40 per cent more people attending Day 1 of the second edition of the Maritime Conclave.
“Kochi is an ideal place, after Thiruvananthapuram, for a shipping event, so it will invite this level of interest,” said one attendee who works in the import-export sector. Kochi is the traditional port city of Kerala, and Thiruvananthapuram hosts India’s first deep-water container international transhipment port—the Vizhinjam International Seaport operated by Adani group.
The event, which saw close to 140 per cent attendance, was further bolstered by THE WEEK Director Riyad Mathew assuring that the challenges of the industry, and important suggestions from the event would be sent to the Union Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways in a week.
Mathew welcomed the “future of the industry” to summit, which began with the lighting of the lamp by Madhu Nair, Chairman and Managing Director, Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL); Commodore PR Hari, Chairman and Managing Director, Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE), Elias George, Former Managing Director, Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL), and Pradeep Jayaraman, CEO, Adani Vizhinjam Port Private Limited (AVPPL).
The event saw the Centre’s announcement for the upcoming Indian Maritime Week 2025 and India International Arbitration Centre (IIAC) CEO Navin Kumar Singh updating the audience about the latest in the arbitration ecosystem in the industry.
In the morning, a panel on ‘Shipbuilding and its Challenges’ led by CSL CMD Madhu Nair saw a lively interaction between L&T Vice President Pankaj Chadha, CSL Operations Director Harikrishnan S, Bureau Veritas Marine & Offshore’s Global Marketing Leader (Tankers) Capt. Ankur Arora, and SEDS Marine Design COO Hariraj P.
The headliner on Day 1 was The Indian Navy’s presentation that began with an address by Commander Abhilash Tomy on shipbuilding and overcoming its challenges in India. What followed was the blockbuster presentation by Lt Cdr Dilna K and Lt Cdr Roopa Alagrisamy, who successfully traversed more than 25,400 nautical miles in a voyage around the world as part of the Navy’s Sagar Parikrama mission—that too, aboard India’s very own INSV Tarini.
As the presentation came to a close, the lieutenant commanders were greeted with an overwhelming standing ovation, a testament to their bravery and resilience.
The first day of the summit will see more expert panels on latest innovations in ship building, ship repair and renewal, modernising India’s gateways, and port development.
The day will close with a session on ‘Disaster Response in the Seas’ presented by Capt Anuj Sahai, MD, T&T, Salvage Asia, and the Project Lead in two high-profile ship accidents near Kochi (ELSA3 and Wan Hai 503).
THE WEEK Maritime Summit 2025 is a two-day event held on September 15 and 16 at The Crowne Plaza in one of the port cities of Kerala — Kochi. Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowa is set to address the summit on its final day tomorrow.