• The Incheon Port Authority (www.icpa.or.kr, President Lee Kyung-Gyu) announced that President Lee Kyung-Gyu and a marketing delegation participated in the 35th International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH) World Ports Conference held in Hamburg, Germany, from October 7 to 9. During the event, they actively promoted Incheon Port.

   

• Established in 1955, the IAPH is the largest international organization for port authorities, with over 270 member ports and other related institutions. It is the only organization granted Consultative Status from five UN specialized agencies and one intergovernmental organization in the port industry.

• The conference, which ran for three days from October 7th to 9th, focused on key themes such as ▴risk management, ▴resilience strengthening, and ▴maximizing opportunities in response to geopolitical uncertainties. Over 170 port-related organizations from 90 countries participated, engaging in discussing various pressing issues facing the port industry through specialized seminar sessions.

• President Lee met with port officials from various countries attending the conference and actively promoted Incheon Port's logistics environment and capabilities. On November 9th, he went to Hamburg, Germany to visit the headquarters of Hapag-Lloyd, the world's fifth-largest shipping company, and resume port sales initiatives. During his meeting with Mr. Matthias Korthals, Director of Global Terminal Procurement at Hapag-Lloyd, they discussed changes following the GEMINI Cooperation* restructuring, the logistics environment of the Incheon New Port Phase 1-2 Container Terminal set to open in late 2027, and the prospect of increasing Hapag-Lloyd's cargo volume through Incheon Port.

* GEMINI Cooperation: A shipping alliance between Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd to be launched in February 2025

• Furthermore, the delegation also conducted benchmarking of major port facilities and port redevelopment areas in Germany. The entire delegation visited Hamburg Port's EUROGATE container terminal to observe the advanced automated systems and digitalized port operations of German ports. They also toured HafenCity in Hamburg to gain insights into urban regeneration and port redevelopment practices.

• On November 11th, after concluding their engagements in Germany, the delegation visited the HAROPA Port in France where they met Kris Danaradjou, Deputy CEO for HAROPA Port Development, to strengthen their long-standing sister port relationship. HAROPA Port, France's largest port, has maintained a sister port relationship with Incheon Port since 1977. During this visit, they inspected HAROPA's lock gate facilities and discussed ways to enhance future technical cooperation. Both parties agreed to pursue the renewal of their sister port MOU in Incheon next year.

   

• Incheon Port Authority's President Lee Kyung-Gyu remarked, “Attending the IAPH conference provided an excellent opportunity to discuss and address key port-related issues with port representatives from around the world.” and added, “In addition, our European port sales activities allowed us to actively promote Incheon Port’s innovative logistics capabilities, including the Incheon New Port Phase 1-2 Container Terminal.”

   

※ Photo Caption (attached)
= Meeting with Hapag-Lloyd, etc. / Photos provided by Incheon Port Authority