2018 is a special year for SHIPPING magazine. Exactly 25 years ago, in 1993, a modest issue came out, which became the beginning for the successful operation of the first industry publication in the CIS.
Dear friends, colleagues, partners, our loyal subscribers, there have been many significant events in the history of the magazine over a quarter of a century. Today we propose to remember the most important moments: start, first successes in the exhibition industry, new horizons and roads in the 21st century. In addition, we want to share our plans for the future. So, here we go!
Editorial Board of SHIPPING magazine and the staff Mediacompass Ukraine
Start and the first success
The idea of creating the first specialized marine magazine in the independent Ukraine belonged to the staff of the Odessa consultative center Marine Technologies. The publishers faced the task of making the publication a pilot in the sea of the international shipping business, which is why the logo on the cover was to be published in Russian and English (SHIPPING). The main editor-in-chief of the magazine was Viktor Denisov.
The first issue of 32 pages was published in June 1993. One of the first subscribers was the Slovak shipbuilding firm Martimex omega and the shipyard Slovenske lodenice.
In June 1994 the magazine celebrated the first anniversary. During a year it «matured»: the number of pages increased, new columns appeared. The circulation increased seven times, which once again proved the popularity of the publication in the maritime community.
SHIPPING — the organizer of the first international exhibition Odessa 200
In 1994, the magazine jointly with the English company DolphinExhibitions, a specialist in the field of international maritime exhibitions, organized and held the first Odessa international exhibition symposium on navigation Odessa 200 (in honor of the celebration of the 200th anniversary of the founding of Odessa), which took place on October 18-20 in the territory of the reconstructed sea station.
Over 2000 managers of companies and specialists from 23 countries took part in its work. According to experts, the exhibition allowed Ukraine to make a huge step forward and gave a powerful impetus to the development of navigation in the Black Sea region. The organizers decided to make the event permanent, and the next exhibition was scheduled for 1996.
Neva-95 — a successful debut of Ukrainian enterprises
In September 1995, SHIPPING magazine presented Odessa at the next international exhibition in St. Petersburg – Neva-95, organizing an impressive national exposition. It included: the seaport of Yuzhny; Odessa State Maritime Academy; shipping companies; shipbuilding and shiprepairing plants; manufacturers and suppliers of ship equipment; design and engineering firms, insurance companies.
The exhibition was a real sensation, as a result of which a number of international companies announced their intention to take part in the second international exhibition Odessa 96.
Odessa 96: Ukraine in the Top Ten Exhibition Countries of the World
In October 1996 Odessa received participants and guests of the second international exhibition on shipping, shipbuilding and development of ports Odessa 96. The exhibition was held at a high level: flags of 30 member countries decorated the territory of the Odessa Sea Station, 300 exhibitors, and 4 national expositions of the largest maritime states of the world — Great Britain, Denmark, Finland, France.
In terms of scale and representativeness, Odessa 96 took the 7th place in the world.
TransUkraine-97 — the first international transport exhibition
The next stage in the exhibition work of the magazine was the organization and holding of the first international transport exhibition-symposium TransUkraine-97.
The exhibition was held from October 30 to November 1, 1997 in the exhibition complex of the Odessa Sea Station. Expositions were presented by the leading world and domestic enterprises specializing in the field of automobile, water, aviation and railway transport.
It should be noted that the 1997th was marked by a whole series of international transport exhibitions: Transtek, TransRussia, TransCaucasus and others. Thus, on May 22-25, the international exhibition TransEurasia 97 was held in Almaty (Kazakhstan), which gathered 117 exhibitors from 23 countries.
The stand of SHIPPING magazine was also presented at the exhibition. Following the results, the Ministry of Transport and Communications of Kazakhstan, as well as a number of leading Kazakhstani transport enterprises, officially announced participation in TransUkraine-97 as part of the national exposition.
Roads in the XXI century
In 1998, the magazine took part in two major international exhibitions — Transtec 98, held May 12-15 in St. Petersburg, and Posidonia 98, held in June in Piraeus, Greece.
The exposition from Odessa on the Black Sea impressed the mayor of Piraeus Stelios Logofetis. What was the surprise of the editorial staff when, in September, Mr. Logofetis, who was in Odessa on a friendly visit, knocked at the door.
In general, the magazine entered the third millennium as an authoritative specialized publication and organizer of about 20 exhibitions of various trends. By that time the recognized brands were the exhibitions Odessa, TransUkraine, Odessa Bot show and others.
New Horizons
In the middle of the 2000s, the magazine took a serious turn: the publication was acquired by MediaCompas, which has been successfully operating in the media business for more than 12 years.
The magazine received a new impetus for further activities, including in the field of exhibition technologies. The team of the company professionals united the previous exhibitions into a single event — the international Black Sea transport forum TRANS EXPO ODESSA. In a short time, the forum acquired the status of the event of the year in the transport industry of Ukraine, launching new exhibitions — Trans Rail Ukraine and Commercial and municipal transport.
Unfortunately, the general crisis of the mid-2000s also affected the publishing sector — in 2008 the last, 144th, issue of SHIPPING magazine was printed. Nevertheless, the head of MediaCompas and the publisher of the magazine Alexander Syvak together with his team decided to make every effort to revive the first specialized publication in Ukraine. In 2016 an updated magazine reappeared on the international information market of the marine industry.
Strengthening the position
With each new issue, SHIPPING magazine continues to strengthen its position — as an interbranch publication and as an organizer of representative events.
The following specialized exhibitions are held under the auspices of the annual TRANS EXPO ODESSA forum: the international transport and logistics exhibition TransUkraine, the international specialized exhibition TransRail Ukraine, the specialized exhibition Commercial and Municipal Transport, the international exhibition on shipping, shipbuilding and port development Odessa.
The forum also hosts conferences, symposiums, seminars, roundtables, at which international experts, industry specialists, heads of the largest Ukrainian and foreign companies together discuss innovative technologies and their capabilities, raise topical problems and seek their solutions.
TRANS EXPO ODESSA — an international event
Today, TRANS EXPO ODESSA is a large-scale and representative event of an international level, which, in fact, has become an expert platform that gives a new impetus to the development of strong partnership relations between participants and promoting Ukraine’s investment attractiveness in the international transport market.
For the forum to take place at a high level, the company’s staff and the editorial staff of the magazine are actively working on its concept throughout the year.
To date, the company has something to offer its partners: attractive terms and an individual approach to each participant, a worthy portfolio of relevant topics discussed at the conference and round tables, B2B meetings, and, of course, a rich cultural and entertainment program. Such a high professional approach to the organization and holding of the forum provides an annual participation in it of about 30-35% of foreign partners.
SHIPPING — a partner of major international events
Annually SHIPPING is a media partner of many Ukrainian and foreign industry forums, exhibitions, conferences. So, in 2017 the publication acted as a partner of more than 100 events held in different parts of the world. The magazine represented Ukraine at such significant events of the year as SITL, InternationalWeekforTransportandLogistics (March 14-16, France), Europort (April 5-8, Turkey), 6th BlackSeaPortsandShipping (May 18-19, Georgia), 4th PosidoniaSeaTourismForum (23-24 May 7, Greece), the IV International Black Sea-Caspian Transport Forum (7-8 September, Georgia), the 14th International Exhibition and Conference on Civil Shipbuilding, Navigation, Ports and Development of the Ocean and Shelf NEVA-2017 (19-22 September, Russia), the12th China (Shenzhen) InternationalLogisticsandTransportationFair (October 12-14, China), Europort (November 7-10, Netherlands), Logitrans 2017, Nov 15-17 convent, Turkey), BWMTech (11-13 December, England).
The magazine plans to host a media partnership in 2018 with a number of international specialized forums and exhibitions, including such important events as Europort, (15-17 May, Romania), Posidonia (4-8 June, Greece), SMM, (September 4-7, Germany).
Jubilee as a start for new opportunities
For the magazine 2018 is special, this year the edition celebrates the 25th anniversary. This is a serious date, which indicates that the magazine continues to be a popular publication among experts and specialists occupying a worthy position in the international transport market.
The publication continues to expand the boundaries of its activities, including the exhibition sector. So, from May 24 to May 26, 2018 for the first time in Odessa the Odessa International Investment Forum will be held. The organizers of the event are MediaCompas, SHIPPING magazine and LLC Maiger. The event will present investment projects in the hotel business, agriculture, alternative energy, IT technologies and transport infrastructure.
June 8, 2018 in Athens (Greece), as part of the international exhibition Posidonia 2018, an international conference MCI — Marine cargo insurance at the crossroads: East-West-South-North is scheduled to be held. The conference will serve as a professional platform for the meeting and communication of shipowners, cargo owners, insurers, maritime lawyers, experts who will share their experience and develop joint solutions to ensure the safety of sea freight and the implementation of environmentally friendly operations on ships.
In the list of our own events for 2018 — the annual forum TRANS EXPO ODESSA, which is scheduled for September 26-28.
