HONG KONG, June 9, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Imabari Maritime Fair 2015, popularly known as "Bari-Ship", was successfully held with an increase in both exhibitor and visitor numbers. Bari-Ship is an international exhibition of shipbuilding technology, marine equipment and related products and services for the commercial shipping industry. Running in conjunction with the exhibition is a two-day international conference and an extensive program of technical seminars and workshops.

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Held from 21-23 May 2015 at Texport Imabari, Imabari City, Japan, the exhibition expanded again this year with the addition of a new exhibition area to accommodate the companies wishing to participate. There were 313 companies exhibiting, an increase of 33% from the previous edition. The exhibitors come from a total of 17 countries. The total number of trade visitors to the exhibition was 9,042.

The Bari-Ship International Conference, organised in conjunction with Kaiji Press Ltd., was attended by over 450 delegates. Speakers from shipowners, shipbuilders and marine equipment manufacturing companies debated the various issues facing the industry, such as compliance with new regulations for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from vessels.

The city of Imabari is located on Shikoku Island facing the Inland Sea of Japan. It is considered to be the heartland of Japan's maritime industry. Shipbuilders headquartered in the city of Imabari account for 30% of Japan's annual shipbuilding output, led by Imabari Shipbuilding Corporation and Shin Kurushima Dockyard.

The strength of the city's maritime industries was clearly illustrated earlier this year when Imabari Shipbuilding Corporation announced that it would invest US$335 million on building a new dockyard capable of building the latest generation of ultra-large containerships that can carry over 20,000 containers.

Imabari is also home to some 160 companies specialising in the manufacture of machinery, parts and equipment for ships. Meanwhile, independent shipowners based in Imabari and the surrounding Ehime prefecture area own 830 vessels, around one third of Japan's total ocean-going merchant fleet.

Christopher Eve, Managing Director of UBM Japan Co Ltd, organiser of Bari-Ship commented: "The Bari-Ship exhibition is a showcase of the very latest in shipbuilding technology available for the worldwide shipping industry. Once again, Bari-Ship is sending a loud and clear message to the global marine community that Imabari's shipbuilding and ship owning industries are strong and vibrant."

The next edition of Bari-Ship, Imabari Maritime Fair will be held in May 2017. The Sea Japan International Maritime Exhibition and Conference, Japan's largest maritime exhibition also organised by UBM Japan, will be held from 13-15 April 2016 at Tokyo Big Sight Exhibition Center.

For more information contact:

Ayako Kajiyama
UBM Japan
Tel: +81-3-5296-1020
Email: Ayako.Kajiyama@ubm.com

For press enquiries, please contact:
Jennifer Law, Director of Corporate Marketing & Communications
UBM Asia
Tel: +852-2516-1691
Fax: +852-3749-7342
Email: Jennifer.Law@ubm.com

Notes to Editors

1. About UBM Asia (www.ubmasia.com)

Owned by UBM plc listed on the London Stock Exchange, UBM Asia is the largest trade show organiser in Asia and the largest commercial organiser in China, India and Malaysia. Established with its headquarters in Hong Kong and subsidiary companies across Asia and in the US, UBM Asia has a strong global network of 31 offices and 1,300 staff in 24 major cities. We operate in 20 market sectors with 230 exhibitions and conferences, 21 trade publications, 18 online products for over 2,000,000 quality exhibitors, visitors, conference delegates, advertisers and subscribers from all over the world.

2.   About UBM plc (www.ubm.com)

UBM plc is a leading global events-led marketing services and communications company. We help businesses do business, bringing the world's buyers and sellers together at events, online and in print. Our 5,000 staff in more than 20 countries are organised into specialist teams which serve commercial and professional communities, helping them to do business and their markets to work effectively and efficiently.

For more information, go to www.ubm.com; for UBM corporate news, follow us on Twitter at @UBM_plc and go to http://media.ubm.com/social for more UBM social media options.

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SOURCE UBM Asia Ltd