Gastech, the annual LNG industry get-together, is the latest maritime conference to fall victim to the coronavirus pandemic.
This year’s meeting was due to take place in Singapore between 8 and 10 September but has now been cancelled.
Gastech organising company — dmg events — said the event in the Lion Republic will now take place in September 2021.
“We … along with the Gastech Governing Body, and in consultation with our partners, Enterprise Singapore, the Singapore Tourism Board and key stakeholders, have taken the decision to postpone Gastech 2020 to September 13 to 16, 2021,” dmg events said in a statement.
“We have made this collective decision based on the current global pandemic and concerns over accessibility and of course the well-being of our speakers, delegates, exhibitors and visitors.”
'Virtual' replacement
The organisers said Gastech 2020 will take place “virtually”, from 7 to 11 September 2020, with strategic and technical conference content streamed online.
Singapore, a key venue for the meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions industry has been particularly hard hit by the virus.
Key local industry events such as Singapore Maritime Week and Singapore Iron Ore Week were cancelled in March as the virus was just beginning to take hold.
The cancellation of the Gastech conference in Singapore this year comes despite the country lifting its "circuit breaker" or lockdown on 1 June.
However, Singapore is looking to gradually restart its economy in three phases over the next several months, with the first phase expected to last at least four weeks.
On Wednesday, TradeWinds reported that the latest of shipping's largest social gatherings, the Eisbeinessen, had been struck down by the coronavirus.
The 72nd meeting of the German shipping event, which was scheduled to take place in Hamburg on 6 November, has been cancelled.
