Dear Members,

As you know our activities for the week leading up to the Annual General Meeting and Dinner will take a slightly different form as the MLA will be hosting the 42^nd Conference of the Comite Maritime International (CMI) from May 3-6^th, 2016. We are excited to have the new IMO Secretary General, Mr. Kitack Lim, attending and providing the keynote address at the Opening Ceremonies on Tuesday evening, May 3^rd.

REGISTRATION:  One of the changes from our usual process is that MLA members should register on the CMI 2016 website if you intend to participate in any meetings or social activities such as the Friday night dinner, lunches, or other events. While there is no charge for attendance at the joint committee meetings, we are asking that you register on the CMI 2016 website even if you do not plan to attend the paid social events so that we can get a sense of the numbers that may show up for any particular meeting.  MLA members can register for all of the week’s activities (social events for which there is a charge, and the no-cost joint meetings) at a discounted rate of $1,000 or can select which social activities they would like to pay for and attend.  You can register for the conference by accessing the conference website at www.cmi2016newyork.org.

HOTEL REGISTRATION: CMI/MLA reserved a limited number of hotel rooms at the conference hotel (Hilton New York Midtown). Availability is based on a “first come, first serve” basis. To inquire about registration under the CMI/MLA block, please do so through the CMI 2016 registration page.  If rooms are available, the Conference Housing Team will make your reservation for you based on your selected dates.  A credit card will be required although you may not be required to pay for your hotel room at the time you make your hotel reservation. Confirmation of your reservation will, however, appear on your general CMI/MLA registration confirmation, along with any other events you registered to attend.  You will not receive confirmation directly from the hotel because hotel reservations under the CMI/MLA block will be maintained by the CMI/MLA event organizer until the beginning of April. If the CMI/MLA block is no longer available, the CMI 2016 website hotel page lists several nearby hotels.

FRIDAY DINNER SEATING:  For the Gala Dinner on Friday evening, you have the option of requesting a full table of 10 (exclusively for your firm) or partial tables on the conference website. Also, the New York firms constituting the Dinner Committee will arrange tables in the usual manner. If you should have any questions regarding the Friday dinner, please contact the MLA Administrator, Robin Becker, at [email protected] – 800-652-5478  or the Dinner Chairman,  William Fennell, at [email protected] – 212-220-3818.

SCHEDULE of EVENTS:   Attached are the following: 1. Schedule of MLA activities for the week  2. Draft of the CMI agenda which includes a listing of the joint MLA Committee/CMI Working Group meetings.  3.  Announcement of a special Healy Lecture at NYU on Thursday evening, May 5^th, 2016 which requires registration as well.

The attached schedules are subject to change so please check the MLA website for updates as we draw closer to the meetings.

Unfortunately, due to the anticipated size of the joint meetings to be held at the New York Hilton and the acoustical arrangements, it will not be possible to arrange telephone conferencing for the joint sessions.

I hope that you will take the opportunity to participate in this historic conference and I look forward to seeing you in New York in May.

Best regards,

Robert G. Clyne

President

1. MLA_Meetings_and_Events_Schedule-Spring_2016
2. CMI New York Schedule (including joint MLA Committee/CMI Working Group meetings)
3. The 13th Nicholas J Healy Lecture Invitation