Maritime Industry Leaders to Meet in Washington

The 2015 Spring Conference of the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) will take place in Washington, D.C., on April 20-21, 2015.

The two-day event will include member-only meetings of port directors, regional port delegations, and five of AAPA’s 13 technical committees (Cruise, Executive, Finance, Maritime Economic Development and Public Relations).

Among the U.S. government leaders slated to speak are Cong. Alan Lowenthal (D-CA), who will discuss his new Economy in Motion freight infrastructure funding bill (H.R. 1308); Adm. Paul Zunkunft, Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, who will discuss cybersecurity risks at America’s seaports; Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Robert Holleyman, who will discuss U.S. trade facilitation efforts; U.S. EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy, will discuss how ports can create a sustainable environment; and U.S. Sen. David Vitter (R-LA), Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, who was instrumental in helping pass the Water Resources Reform and Development Act in Congress last year and is being presented with one of two AAPA 2015 Port Person of the Year awards.

Serving as the Spring Conference’s April 20 luncheon speaker and the other 2015 Port Person of the Year awardee will be Lic. Guillermo Ruiz de Teresa, who is general coordinator of Mexican ports and Merchant Marine in México City.

In this role, Mr. Ruiz de Teresa oversees a sector that will see a total port infrastructure investment of over 76,000 million pesos (about US$5 billion) by 2018.

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