May 7, 2024

ICOMIA and Singapore Boating Industry Association presented the ICOMIA Boating Industry Conference 2024 at ONE°15 Marina at Sentosa Cove, Singapore, on 23-24 April 2024.

This inaugural conference showcased much of the work ICOMIA is doing to connect the recreational boating industry in Asia. In particular, the work generated by the ICOMIA Asia Working Group and the ICOMIA Asia Representative Su Lin Cheah, who was the principal organiser, event co-ordinator and creative force behind the conference.

The conference was opened by special guest and Chief Executive of the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore, Eng Dih Teo, who spoke about his vision of Singapore becoming one of the world’s leading ports and how to do that whilst meeting the targets of the Paris Climate Agreement.

Key themes of the conference were sustainability and the decarbonisation of the recreational marine industry with ICOMIA’s ongoing Propelling our Future campaign shaping much of the dialogue. ICOMIA President Darren Vaux took to the stage to deliver the conference keynote speech discussing ICOMIA’s landmark research Pathways into Propulsion Decarbonisation in the Recreational Marine Industry and the further research being undertaken by the continuing #propellingourfuture campaign.

Bingrong Ng, Director of the Maritime Decarbonisation Division of MPA Singapore provided delegates with an overview of Singapore’s initiatives in decarbonisation and sustainability. Included were details of the planned electrification of harbour crafts as well as increasing engagement with the recreational sector to ensure collaboration in implementation.

The topics then turned to more technical issues, with Dr. Grant Suzuki of Yamaha Motor Corporation USA, along with his colleagues from Yamaha Motor Co. Japan, giving a presentation on their innovative approach to embracing the full realm of available technologies to be applied through Yamaha’s entire portfolio of mobility products, both marine and non-marine.

Oscar Siches led an engaging panel discussion on the Pivot Towards Sustainability, together with panellists Stephen Beng of Phillip Capital and Peter Jacops of WAWA Creations. Their discussion showed that best practices in sustainability need to be multi-faceted and pragmatic, incorporating environmental and social factors as well as financial and economic considerations. The investment community are increasingly making their decisions based on sustainability criteria, showing that both the consumer and institutional investors are becoming increasingly aligned behind sustainability within our industry.

Day one of the conference closed with a session discussing how we can boat responsibly and better protect the marine environment.

The second day of the conference saw attention switch to looking at the issues of sustainability in industry growth and business practices with panels of experts and regional business leaders examining how we can collaborate globally, working with governments and regulators to secure the best possible legislative, tax and investment environments to help our industry thrive.

A well-received discussion was focused on changing consumer expectations and how we as an industry can work towards making boating more affordable and accessible, with shared ownership schemes proving to be transformational in this respect and good for the environment too.

ICOMIA CEO Joe Lynch said: “We promised you a conference that would focus on sustainability in every sense of the word, a conference relevant to everyone, regardless of their role within our industry and thanks to our amazing contributors, speakers, panellists and our audience from every corner of the world, we delivered on this promise.”

“Collectively we are responsible for a huge industry that benefits the health and well-being of our participants and local host communities alike and when we collaborate, we create a sustainable, successful and safe industry to pass on to the next generation”.

The ICOMIA Boating Industry Conference was organised and held in association with ICOMIA member Singapore Boating Industry Association and in conjunction with the Singapore Yachting Festival. If you would like further information about the Conference please email info@icomia.com.