The Connecticut Maritime Association (CMA) is moving its annual conference to October, once again joining forces with SHIPPINGInsight for a hybrid North American Shipping Week.
The event — to be held both in person and online — will begin with SHIPPINGInsight's Bridging the Decade event on Monday, 11 October at the Hyatt Regency in Greenwich, Connecticut.
That event will run until 13 October, when the CMA conference begins at the Stamford Hilton, finishing out the week with its annual commodore celebration on Friday.
"This is our second year that we will be partnering with SHIPPINGInsight to bring you another North American Shipping week and we are hoping to see you all in person at the Hilton in Stamford, Connecticut," CMA president Chris Aversano said in a statement.
"Keeping consistent with years past, we plan to bring you a robust agenda, with timely topics. One of our key features of our show is networking, and we hope we can bring that to you."
Last year, the two organisations launched North American Shipping Week after Covid-19 forced CMA to cancel its annual, largest-on-the-continent event.
North American Shipping Week was initially slated to be live, but eventually moved online as the pandemic continued to rage.
Both Aversano and SHIPPINGInsight chief evolution officer Carleen Lyden Walker said the 2021 event would emphasise safety for attendees by offering the event online and in person.
"We continue to focus on was what is best for the industry writ large and the importance that our community be safe, which is why we are offering a hybrid event," said SHIPPINGInsight chief executive Carleen Lyden Walker.
"Our relationship-driven industry thrives on the personal connection and trust built through face-to-face interactions, and a hybrid format helps us achieve accessibility globally."
The move follows on Nor-Shipping's decision to postpone its conference until 2022 due to the pandemic.
While Connecticut has one of the highest Covid-19 vaccination rates in the country, it remains to be seen when things in the state, nationally or globally, can return to normal.
Some estimates suggest vaccination may not be widely available until the autumn.
The US has 24m confirmed cases of Covid-19, with just over 399,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University.
