TPM, container shipping’s largest event, was cancelled over the weekend, less than 24 hours before it was scheduled to open its doors in Long Beach. 

“Given the deteriorating situation regarding the spread of the COVID-19 disease, unfortunately it is necessary to cancel TPM20 scheduled for March 1-4, 2020,” organisers from the team at the Journal of Commerce wrote to clients. The show, celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, will reconvene in 2021. Some 2,400 delegates had booked to attend from all over the world.

Elsewhere, the spread of the coronavirus has put Singapore Maritime Week on hold with some events set to transfer from April to September and others rolled through to next year

Organisers of Sea Japan, put on hold 15 days from its start date on March 11, have yet to reveal their rescheduling intentions, while Asia Pacific Maritime took the decision early to postpone from March to September, a month that is now looking very busy indeed with the world’s largest shipping exhibition, SMM, taking place at the same time as Gastech and many events scrapped this spring moving to that month.

Inevitably, delegates are beginning to get apprehensive about Posidonia – shipping’s biennial greatest party – scheduled for the first week of June. Hinting that the event was carrying on as per normal, organisers on Friday tweeted that sales kits for the Digital Innovation Pavilion at the show are now available.

Look at all of those bags! Can’t wait for #TPM20 to begin! pic.twitter.com/HSo0COUfdE

— Peter Tirschwell (@PeterTirschwell) February 29, 2020