“I would just like to express my sincere thanks and congratulations to all at The ABR Company Ltd for having put on such an excellent Tug & Salvage Convention”
Simon Swallow, commercial director, The Shipowners' Protection Ltd

The ABR team felt the record attendance at ITS 2008 in Singapore would be virtually impossible to beat, but ITS 2010 Vancouver exceeded all previous figures in spectacular style, with 467 delegates, 103 exhibitors and 36 countries represented.
General manager Garth Manson said: "It was outstanding – a wonderful combination of top quality papers – which were stronger than ever this year – and superb networking among the key players of the industry. Once companies have attended an ITS convention, they know it is the one event they can't afford to miss, so they keep coming back."
Feedback from delegates both at the conference and via our questionnaires has been extremely positive, with 93 per cent ticking the ‘good’ or ‘excellent’ boxes for their overall opinion of the event.
The setting, at the Westin Bayshore hotel, right on the waterfront, was superb, with its excellent facilities, views of snow-capped mountains, and close proximity to the fabulous Stanley Park.

The Convention
The Inaugural Paper was presented by Robin Silvester, president and CEO, Port Metro Vancouver, who gave an informative account of the history and development of the port, putting the location of the Convention into context and setting the scene for the week’s speakers, papers and events.
The papers themselves drew together a wide range of topics, from the operational – tug safety, the need for internationally recognised certification for vessels less than 500grt, and P&I insurance for tugs, for example – to vessel design – including several papers on ‘green tug’ designs in the Green Wednesday session. There was also a special session on co-operation in salvage, and some extremely lively and thought-provoking question and answer sessions. Both the papers themselves, and those exchanges between speakers and delegates during after-paper discussions, will be available in the usual Book of Papers format in August, price £100, which will include a disk with all the PowerPoint presentations from the programme. For details please call +44 (0)1225 868821 or click here to order online.

The entertainment
The ‘off-duty’ programme for the Convention is always a key feature of the event, not only for the high quality of the events but also as a bonus opportunity to mingle and network with business associates old and new in an informal setting. This year’s events began with what is now an ITS tradition, the Damen-sponsored Golf Tournament on the Monday. This was held at Furry Creek Golf Course and was won by a team comprising Terry Crump, Gordon Bain, Rone McLellan and Peter Blenkinsop.

That evening came the Welcome Cocktail Party, again sponsored by Damen, which took place around the hotel pool. The pool was, in fact, the focus of attention, featuring, for the evening, a lively display of model tugboats, complete with, once darkness fell, their own, tiny lights.

The highlight of the week’s entertainment, of course, is the Gala Dinner, and this year, the Council of Marine Carriers-sponsored event, at the Vancouver Convention Centre, was no exception. In fact, most agreed that the entertainment – by stunning acrobats from the Underground Cirque and lively music from ABBA Cadabra – was the best ever at an ITS Convention.
The evening also featured a popular raffle, and a presentation by Allan and Liz Brunton-Reed of silver commemorative dishes to those attending the event for a tenth time. This year, recipients were: Jens-Erk Bartels, Erik van der Noordaa, Coen Boudesteijn, Jack Gaston, Michiel Wijsmuller, Risto Järvinen, Andy Smith and Mark & Nickie Hoddinott (who received a joint award). Steve Scalzo, who qualified in 2008 but who was not present at the Gala Dinner in Singapore to receive his award, was also finally paired up with his dish.

The following day, delegates and exhibitors were treated to a superb harbour tour cruise, which featured a display from various local tugboats, and in particular a demonstration of pushing power by the BRAtt (Burchett-Robert Allan training tug), which was officially unveiled during the Convention and which went bow to bow with the 30m Seaspan Resolution to push it backwards. Observers immediately thought of 101 other uses for the 7.8m by 4.32m aluminium mini-ASD in addition to the original concept: of providing real water training to aspiring assist and docking tug masters without taking an expensive full-size ASD tug off the job.

The week was brought to a fitting close with the Smit-sponsored Farewell Cocktail party at the Vancouver Convention Centre, where guests were treated to a wonderful assortment of food and beverages as well as a panoramic view of the harbour and mountains beyond, complete with a display of Smit tugs on the water below.

ITS 2012 Barcelona
The next ITS Convention is due to take place in Barcelona, Spain, on 7th-11th May 2012. There will be updates to the
ITS 2012 pages on this website from time to time so please be sure to visit regularly. The deadline for the submission of paper synopses is May 2011. Please submit your suggestions before this date. Should you wish to participate in the exhibition or register as a delegate, please email the ITS 2012 Secretariat, Valerie Harris, at val@tugandsalvage.com

What the best think of the best
"Excellent again, they just get better and better."
Steven Sandy, general manager, International Tugmasters Association

"This was an excellent gathering of key decision makers involved with the Global Tug and Salvage Industry."
Eric Hermann, sales manager, Americas, Caterpillar

"Network events are excellent, some papers are so technical that I think these must be saved for Tugnology. More visionair as where are we and where do we go, say in 20 years from now."
Karel Kaffa, managing director, KST BV

“Best yet. I really enjoyed the speakers' programme – even more than earlier ITS Conventions.”
Jim Shirley, partner, Holland & Knight LLP

"Firstly sincere thanks for an excellent conference! No one who attended could have come away thinking any different. The quality of the ‘papers’, exhibitors and delegates was superb and the organisation from a delegate’s perspective was seamless, unobtrusive, helpful and faultless."
Arie Nygh, managing director, Seaways Consultants Pty Ltd