With just over two weeks to go to the start of the Caribbean Shipping Association's (CSA) 42nd Annual General Meeting, Conference and Exhibition, registration has surpassed the 250 mark, raising expectations that this will be one of the largest CSA conferences in recent years.

The conference will be held in San Juan at La Concha (Renaissance) Hotel on October 15, 16, and 17, and is being hosted by the Puerto Rico Shipping Association. Registration reached 213 participants at the end of the second week of September and 271 before the end of the month.

new leaders

The highlight of this conference will be the election of new leaders for the regional body of private-and public-sector maritime interests. The incumbent president, Panama's Carlos Urriola, having served the maximum three consecutive terms allowed by the CSA constitution, cannot be re-elected to the post.

At the same time, the 10 booth spaces in the CSA's annual business exposition 'Shipping Insight' have already been taken.

The event will be officially opened by CSA president Carlos Urriola on Sunday, October 14. Exhibitors, including some of the leading equipment, software and service companies in the business, will be promoting systems and solutions which will be available to the regional shipping industry in the year ahead.

Plans for the CSA Golf Challenge being planned by the Puerto Rico Shipping Association have been completed. The tournament will be held on Saturday October 13 at the Arthur Hills-designed golf course at the El Conquistador Resort. The two-person scramble tournament will be played as part of the Puerto Rico Shipping Association's annual golf tournament - Navieros Golf Open 2012. Over 100 golfers are expected to participate.