The Trans-Pacific Asia Conference, held in Shenzhen, China from 10-12 October 2017, is a forum for carriers, freight forwarders and suppliers operating throughout the global supply chain particularly in the Asia Pacific region.

The key note address was delivered by Mr CK Yoo, President & CEO, Hyundai Merchant Marine who spoke of the challenges to the shipping sector posed by changing environmental regulations such as low sulphur fuels. The conference examined the growth of carrier alliances and the impact this has on pricing and competitiveness and the prospect this will redress the recent downturns in the shipping sector.

Developments in technology, live time container tracking and reefer container monitoring were topical and relevant in Shenzhen, an economic zone which is a major gateway to Chinese markets. Presentations about China's "Belt and Road" or the "new Silk Road" strategy and insights from DP World's inland transport hub in Khourgas demonstrated the expansiveness of the transport sector beyond traditional maritime routes.

Thomas Miller and TT Club were represented by Alexis Cahalan from Thomas Miller Law, Australia who presented on the topic, "The Cyber Risk: Protecting Your Assets from Invisible Attack". As the recent "not Petya" incident demonstrates, the risk of cyber attack is now a reality which is being considered across all participants in the transport supply chain. Alexis spoke about the need to apply a corporate culture of risk management to assess the vulnerabilities a company may have to cyber risk and to develop a response framework with this in mind.