On March 31th ended another edition of SINAVAL, a meeting that is considered one of the main references of the naval sector in Spain and Europe. This year, for the first time, it was part of the Maritime World Week program, along with the Marine Energy Week, Eurofishing and FuturePort fairs, which were held at the Bilbao Exhibition Center of the Basque Country.

According to the organization, a total of 1,747 professionals attended to this event to learn about the latest technological advances and to look for new business opportunities in the “blue economy” or the industries of the sea. This industry currently moves 275 billion euros in the European Union. In addition, 100 speakers from 16 different countries took part in the round tables and seminars, being able to show their specialized vision on various aspects of maritime news.

Among all these presentations, it is worth mentioning the one carried out by the Basque Maritime Forum, an organization that brings together associations, public institutions and companies from the Basque maritime sector. This presentation analysed the situation of the naval industry and its prospects in Spain and in the Basque Country. It was stated that for this year 2017 there is “a slight tendency of improvement”, having as the main challenge of “recovering levels of activity that consolidate the Industry and enable to regain their position and prestige in the international market “.

Furthermore, this organization announced that in the first months of 2017, the Basque shipyards, which currently have a portfolio of 33% of the total national orders, have matched the contract figures formalized last year. Thus, the orders to the shipyards of the Basque Autonomous Community are 20 out of a total of 55 orders in the private sector in Spain, and where Zamakona Yards owns 10 projects out of the total accounted.

In order to continue this trend and be sustainable over time, the Basque Maritime Forum has launched its new Strategic Plan 2017-2020 to “deal with competitiveness” in the new economic scenario, with the aim of strengthening internationalization, to foster the cooperation between enterprises, training and innovation.

For Zamakona Yards, it is always a satisfaction to support and participate at SINAVAL, as it allows us to show our capabilities and be in direct contact with the public institutions, clients, providers and the naval industry form Spain and Europe.

Sources of information (in Spanish): Diario Vasco and Bilbao Exhibition Center