June 26, 2018

During the annual ICOMIA/IFBSO Congress in Berlin, Germany, hosted by the International Marine Certificate Institute (IMCI), NMMA Canada President Sara Anghel was elected Vice President of ICOMIA – the International Council of Marine Industry Associations. NMMA President Thom Dammrich was re-elected to ICOMIA’s Executive Committee.

A number of other ICOMIA positions were voted on, including Andrea Razeto from UCINA (Italy) as ICOMIA President, and YP Loke (SBIA) as Vice President. The Marinas Group (IMG), Technical Committee and Environment Committee also appointed new chairs.

Also of note during the Congress: an agreement was signed between ICOMIA and IBEX with the aim of bringing the rest of the world closer to the U.S. boating industry.

Marine industry associations from across the world attended the ICOMIA/IFBSO Congress to network, share expertise and attend important committee meetings. The Congress program included seminars featuring the following key industry topics:

• Technical: technical harmonization of boatbuilding and equipment requirements
• Superyacht Division: IMO and Flag requirements, Tier III emission limits
• Grow Boating: initiatives and member campaigns to stimulate uptake of boating and measure campaign success
• Environment: updates on increasing regulations and industry response
• Marinas Group: international marine association developments and planning of the autumn World Marinas Conference.
• Statistics Committee: provision of industry market intelligence
• Exporters: new markets and international shows of interest

Next year’s ICOMIA Congress will be held June 5-7, 2019 in Croatia and will be hosted by ICOMIA member, Croatian Boating Industry Association (CBIA).