Bulgarian Ports
Infrastructure Company

The Director General of Bulgarian Ports Infrastructure Co. Anguel Zabourtov opened the 7^th Black Sea ports and Shipping Conference and Exhibition 2018. The Mayor of Varna Ivan Portnih, the regional Governor Stoyan Pasev and the Ambassador of Ireland to Bulgaria H.E. Michael Forbes welcomed the participants in the forum, which took place under the auspices of the BPI Co. from May 21 to May 23, 2018 in the sea capital Varna.

“When we talk about the development of the Black Sea region, some of us are sceptical, others are optimistic – only time will show who is right. The most important thing that we need to do to make progress is to have good cooperation with each other – said Anguel Zabourtov and added that the successful introduction of e-government at the sea ports of Varna and Burgas made them attractive enough to develop in multimodal hubs for goods on the Silk Road“.
“As a community, we fully support the development of the sector. We believe that the maritime industry is an extremely important sector of the region’s economy and that we have tremendous potential for development. I am confident that such an important forum is extremely useful for the exchange of valuable ideas and practices “, said Mr. Ivan Portnih.

The regional Governor Mr. Stoyan Pasev added that the fact that an event of such rank, which will contribute to the development of the maritime business, takes place precisely in Varna shows the important place of the city on the map of Europe.

The prestigious event was attended by more than 200 representatives of world-renowned maritime companies – carriers, shippers, logistic companies, port terminal operators, and port equipment and services providers from nearly 20 countries. During the Conference, the latest world case studies in the field of maritime transport and logistics were analysed. Among the main topics discussed by the maritime industry specialists were the initiative “One Belt – One Road”, known as the new Silk Road. The Conference provided an excellent opportunity to exchange world class know-how and successful practices and the exhibition was a forum for leading port, shipping and logistics experts to present state-of-the-art technologies in the field of port industry and information technology.

Within the forum BPI Co. presented the achievements in the field of maritime transport – implementation of one of the most modern systems for ship management, deployment of e-management in sea and river transport – the systems Single Window on sea and river, and the forthcoming implementation of the electronic information data interchange in the Bulgarian port -  Port Community System /PCS/.

Black Sea Ports & Shipping is the biggest event in the field of Black Sea navigation and one of the world largest and most prestigious international maritime events. The emblematic forum took place for the first time in Bulgaria as recognition of the achievements of the BPI Co in the field of modernization of the Bulgarian ports and of the maritime transport.