With 87% of visitors responsible for authorising or influencing purchasing decisions, it is not surprising that one boat building exhibitor, VT Halmatic, sold six boats at Seawork 2005 International with a combined value exceeding £5m. Business was brisk throughout the exhibition, as 70% of visitors to Seawork come specifically to see and buy new products, vessels and innovations. The event left smiles on the faces of most exhibitors and visitors, with some 75% of the latter immediately stating their intention to return for Seawork 2006 .A busy first day, which saw a number of contract signing ceremonies and new product launches, was capped in the evening by the now customary ZF Marine sponsored Seawork Gala Dinner , which packed the banqueting facilities at Southampton's modern St Mary's Stadium to full capacity. A pre-dinner reception sponsored by Juniper Green Organic Gin left all parties well lubricated to enjoy an excellent meal, fine wines and uproarious after dinner stand-up comedy from Adger Brown. A collection at the close of the evening raised over £1,320 for the RNLI.

Another now established Seawork tradition is the Bond Pearce sponsored Innovations Showcase, in which over 30 commercial marine products introduced during the past year are prominently displayed within the show and vie for category honours as well as the overall Spirit of Innovation Trophy.

The awards are presented at the Gala Dinner and carrying off the Spirit of Innovation Trophy for 2005 was VT Halmatic for their 9m Halmatic Offshore Raiding Craft (HORC), a twin engined, water jet powered troop carrier which also has ro-ro loading and discharge capability.

Commenting on the award, VT Halmatic's Seb Freeman said, 'We're delighted. And the award comes on a day when we have exchanged contracts with PD Teesport and Falmouth Harbour Commissioners for two 16m pilot boats.'

A Vessel Equipment award went to Halyard (M&I) Ltd for a driveshaft weighing only 3kg which can transmit the thrust of a 1,300 hp engine while Echoscan Ltd triumphed in the Underwater Technology category with its Searov.

In only their second year, RibWork and DiveWork , two dedicated shows within Seawork , built on their debut success of 2004 to return in expanded form. With the versatile RIB proving ever more popular for commercial workboat applications, more than 20 examples of the breed were on the Seawork pontoon this year. First time exhibitor Rib-X was quick to discover the advantages of Seawork participation, selling a £25,000 boat in the first hour of the show.

As with DiveWork , RibWork isstructured to enable time-pressed visitors to fast-track to stands and floating exhibitions of specific relevance.

Expanded some 50% beyond its debut success, DiveWork 2005 consolidated its position as a key component of Seawork with a bustle of interest on the stands and a full schedule of activity in the quayside dive demonstration tank. Provided by Searchwise of Aberdeen, the 30,000 litre dive tank played host to a steady stream of product tests and health and safety demonstrations.

Chris Bryant of Subsea Vision, one of many enthusiastic participants, said, 'Being part of DiveWork has ensured we've received a steady flow of visitors particularly interested in ROVs.

We've gained many worldwide leads and will definitely be back next year.'

A series of papers specifically targeted at the diving industry were presented at Seawork 'sconcurrent conference. An integral part of Seawork since its inception, the excellent Conference has always been a large part of the event's success, with some 32% of visitors this year citing it as a reason to attend. Many of the papers presented at Seawork 2005 were enjoyed by 'standing room only' audiences, with loudspeakers beyond the conference doors to enable the overflow to hear the proceedings.

Jane Wilson's dedicated team is already busy preparing Seawork 2006 International , which returns to the same venue on 13 through 15 June.

Most of this year's visitors and exhibitors are making plans too.

As Caspar Vermuelen from the Netherlands' Damen Shipyards said, 'For the three days of Seawork , our European customer base knows precisely where to find us - in Southampton.'

MJInformation No: 20925