The 8th annual Offshore Energy Exhibition and Conference 2015 (OEEC15), one of the fastest growing gatherings of offshore professionals, has officialy started this morning in Amsterdam’s RAI Exhibition and Convention Centre.
The conference was opened by Scarlett Mummery, also known as the Offshore Blondie, and Coert van Zijll Langhout, Managing Director of Navingo.
Speaking to the moderator Joep Stassen, Mummery, who is a geotechnical engineer and author of The Offshore Blondie blog writing about the ‘offshore lifestyle’ from a female perspective and that of a young maritime professional, said that, in her opinion, there is not enough awareness about the females’ role offshore.
“It is a very male-dominated industry and I think it will take a lot to change that. But if someone can see my blog and just say hey I can do this, I am happy even if that means only one person joins the industry, regardless if it is a boy or a girl,” she said.
“There is a big responsibility for us all to promote our industry and to isnpire the youth,” said van Zijll Langhout, commenting on the future of the industry.
He added that despite the current downturn in the industry, the demand for energy is expected to grow, and thus the demand for highly-skilled, well-trained and motivated young people, both men and women.
Founded in 2008, Offshore Energy has been breaking records year after year. The 2014 edition attattracted 13,452 visitors representing 81 nationalities, an increase of 47% compared to the previous year.
It is expected that the number of supply chain companies exhibiting at this year’s edition will exceed 650, with expected number of visitors reaching staggering 14,000.
The event will also include an extensive conference program covering topics like offshore safety, technical data management, well intervention vessels, subsea processing and decommissioning. These will include panel discussions, eight technical sessions, and four master classes in addition to co-located Offshore WIND Conference that took place on Monday 12 October.
World Maritime News Staff