07/10/2026
🚢 The Italian Shipping Academy yesterday welcomed Patrick Verhoeven, Managing Director of the International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH), to its new headquarters at Palazzo Tabarca in the heart of Genoa's historic port.
🤝🏼 The visit marks a further step in strengthening the institutional partnership between the two organisations. The Italian Shipping Academy is a member of IAPH, and Verhoeven's visit to the new premises — inaugurated on 18 September in the presence of Italy's highest national and local institutional authorities — consolidates a collaborative relationship with growing ambitions in the field of specialised training and high-value technical competencies for the port and maritime sector.
🌐 During the visit, both parties explored the potential for future cooperation, with particular focus on the development of training programmes tailored to the professions of the modern port, the sharing of international best practices, and the integration of IMSSEA — the Academy's international division — into the broader global network promoted by IAPH.
⚓️ Palazzo Tabarca, with its 18 naval simulators and laboratories dedicated to decarbonisation and sustainable mobility, is positioned to become a European reference point for the training of the professional figures that the port infrastructures of the future will require.
Founded in November 1955 by approximately 100 port leaders gathered in Los Angeles, IAPH has grown into a global network representing today some 190 ports and 167 port-related organisations across 89 countries. The Association holds consultative status with key United Nations agencies, including UNCTAD, UNEP and the UN Global Compact, and advocates for the interests of the world's ports at the international level.
