More than 220 delegates attended the recent TMS Tanker Conference, following its move to The Atlantis Dubai, in Dubai, UAE. The visitor numbers jumped 90 per cent, officials said.

Trevor Pereira, managing director, TMS, said: “We moved the conference to The Atlantis to ensure not only that we could meet growing demand from the market, but also that the venue was really upmarket as is befitting for such an elite group of tanker industry professionals.

“The big rise in delegate numbers shows this was the right strategy, but also how topical and relevant the topics on the agenda were in taking the event to a whole new level,” he said.

This was the third annual tanker conference staged by The Maritime Standard and took as its theme Getting the most out of more positive markets.

Clive Woodbridge, conference editor, said: “Despite well-documented politico-economic concerns, there are some cautiously optimistic signs that the tanker trades are in recovery mode.”

“Delegates were able to hear from a wide range of top quality speakers, with expertise in different aspects of the market, who suggested some interesting future-looking strategies designed to overcome any obstacles and ensure that all available opportunities in a market upturn are fully grasped,” he added.

Keynote addresses were given by Sheikh Talal Al Khaled Al Sabah, chief executive of the Kuwait Oil Tanker Company and Dr Nikolas Tsakos, chairman of Intertanko.