OUR man in the Middle East, for this week at least, is Richard Clayton, who was topping up his winter tan in Dubai in between hosting our star-studded  South Asia, Middle East and Africa (SAMEA) awards and then chairing the latest in our series of Lloyd’s list Smart Ports Forums.

Meanwhile, our China editor Cichen Shen and Asia news editor Vincent Wee were in the thick of it at this year’s Hong Kong Maritime Week and more importantly hosting Lloyd’s List’s eagerly anticipated Innovation Forum.

Given that protesters had paralysed the transport network and practically shut down the city amid some fairly spicy altercations on the streets Hong Kong only a few days before the maritime community set out their stalls for this year’s shipping showcase, it has to be said that we were all unsure what to expect.

As it turns out the biggest altercation of the week was over the quality of the buffet.

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