The industry has suffered greatly from the uncertainty caused by the Iraq War but what effect will this have in the future? What other influences will the industry see? What fundamental changes, if any, will there be within the structure of the industry? It is no doubt that the shiprepair industry is entering a period of far-reaching changes resulting mainly from the phasing out of single hull tankers, rapidly expanding container fleets and development of new facilities in Asia. The ShipRepair & Conversion exhibition and conference, taking place 26-27 November in London, is an annual meeting of industry leaders offering unique opportunity to find out more about this market place.

Currently the conversion market continues in a buoyant mood for those shipyards, which actively seek such projects. Specifically the FPSO conversion market continues to be very busy and predictions are for many more such projects. However the question remains what shipyards have to do to be active in the conversion market and how to avoid bottlenecks. Exact planning and improvement in accuracy of repair specifications is essential, not only for the shipowner, but also for the shipyard. More cooperation at the planning stage between owners and yards, and specifically clear definition of requirements are seen as major factors contributing to successful projects, on-time delivery and reduction in 'extras'. These and other critical issues facing the industry will be discussed during the ShipRepair & Conversion event.