The largest annual ship-finance conference in the US has been cancelled for 2020 after organisers initially chose to postpone the three-day event.

Marine Money Week will fold its hand owing to the coronavirus outbreak and set sights on returning to the Pierre Hotel in midtown Manhattan for the usual dates in 2021.

"Marine Money Week is a special event. We felt that the risk of not being able to produce the quality content and international attendee audience that people rely on was not respectful of our clients’ time and resources," the organisers said in a release today.

TradeWinds reported on 27 March that Marine Money had decided to postpone the event, originally scheduled for 25 to 27 June.

At the time, Marine Money International chairman Jim Lawrence said his team was exploring a range of dates from September forward to accommodate the sprawling conference, which typically spawns side parties and receptions across the city.

Marine Money joins a host of maritime events that have postponed or cancelled as a result of the virus and associated "lockdown" orders from world governments.

The year's biggest global conference, Posidonia in Greece, has been postponed from early June to a 26 October start.

The Seatrade cruise conference originally scheduled for April in Miami has postponed to dates not yet scheduled.

Singapore Iron Ore week was cancelled.

In Marine Money's case, the group is still planning to hold two New York conferences later in the year.

The first, on 23 September, is to deal with environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues and corresponds with plans for UN Climate Week in the city.

The second is the annual New York Ship Finance Forum on 18 November, which is to be expanded this year.