Port Management Strategy Summit 2013

The Port Management Strategy Summit 2013will be held on February 5 and 6 in Abu Dhabi, UAE. It will be hosted by Fleming Gulf Conferences and the Marine Administration of the UAE.

Rohan Masakorala

Top brass from the world ports fraternity will meet, network and make decisions related to their future operations, This forum will provide an opportunity for the port authorities, dock yards, government bodies, stakeholders, service providers and related consultants to synchronise their thoughts and coordinate their efforts to strategically adapt to the evolving trends.International marine logistics professionals will also attend and will share their challenges and best practices. Immediate past Secretary General of the Asian Shippers' Council (ASC) and consultant to the Global Shippers Forum (GSF), Rohan Masakorala has been invited to address the summit.

He will speak on 'Shippers' perspective on ports and services'. The presentation will focus on the importance of ports and its impact on the shippers' supply chain, terminal handling charges, congestion charges and other terminal costs, transshipment and the importance of connectivity, security and reliability.

Masakorala, the CEO of the Shippers' Academy Colombo, has over 20 years of international experience in the fields of shipping, exports, manufacturing, logistics and supply chain management. He is qualified in economics, business administration and marketing from the University of Connecticut USA.

He has served in many director boards in the private and public sector.

He currently serves as the senior consultant to Strategic Enterprise Management Agency (SEMA) on ports and aviation. In addition to being an independent shipping and trade consultant, he has been involved in professional training in international trade, logistics, transport and trade facilitation. He was a past chairman of the Sri Lanka Shippers' Council and was also the chairman of the South Asian Shippers' Council (ASCOBIPS) and the Secretary General of the Asian Shippers' Council in 2009.

The summit will focus on private sector business, regional stevedoring and political interference, along with strict norms set for port management. Increased competition calls for better ways to handle transshipments, strategic port management solutions, and balancing risks and profits.