One of the world's largest ship technology exhibitions and conferences, SMM, has been postponed until February 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The biennial event in Hamburg - one of the maritime calendar's fixtures - is just the latest gathering forced to reschedule to comply with social distancing measures.
Germany is starting to ease its lockdown after winning plaudits for its handling of the crisis, although the unwinding of restrictions is slow.
SMM had been due to take place in early September but will now be held at the Hamburg Messe und Congress centre on February 2 to 5, 2021.
Planning ahead
"We are convinced that global business travel will be possible again at this time, and we hope that the new date will give you the necessary planning security," SMM said in a statement.
"All visitor and conference tickets that have been ordered so far remain valid for the new date."
Bernd Aufderheide, President and CEO of Hamburg Messe und Congress centre said: “The continued highly dynamic development of COVID-19 and the resulting ban on major events have left us no other choice but to postpone SMM to next year.
"Finding a suitable new timeframe for SMM was not an easy task for us, and we are happy we have been able to do so."
He added: “We will offer the global maritime community an extraordinary, more compact SMM in February 2021. Together we will overcome this crisis and host an SMM that will live up to its own, high standards. We are looking forward to welcoming everybody back."
The event, which is headed by Claus Ulrich Selbach, Business Unit Director – Maritime and Technology Fairs & Exhibitions at Hamburg Messe und Congress, is fully booked.
"As its organiser, we are in close contact with the responsible health authorities and health and security executives of main exhibitors," said SMM
"So you can rest assured that all hygienic and safety requirements are met to secure your health and well-being at SMM."
It last edition attracted more than 2,200 exhibitors and about 50,000 visitors
Responsible decision
"We believe this is a sensible and responsible decision under the circumstances," said Jon Spencer, chief operating officer of NHST Global which publishes TradeWinds and Recharge.
"We look forward to supporting SMM and Hamburg Messe's future activities."
TradeWinds is partner with SMM for the Shipowners' Forum conference.
Posidonia, the high-profile week-long shipping event in Greece, has already been postponed from the first week of June until late October, while CMA in the US has been rescheduled twice, and now hopes to go ahead in October.
Most, if not all, shipping conferences have been cancelled or rescheduled online. Marine Money's annual week of ship finance conferences in New York in June has been cancelled for this year.
