Seawork International Sails Into Southampton

As has become customary for Seawork , exhibitor numbers for this 2005 event are up by some 10% on last year. The DiveWork exhibition, an independent event launched last year within the main show, now commands a floor area expanded by more than 50% in response to its debut success.

Dedicated to the commercial diving sector, DiveWork covers every aspect of the industry. For 2005, the Association of Diving Contractors has a larger stand encompassing a hospitality area for visitors. The quayside diving demonstration tank returns for 2005 and is augmented by an internally mounted television camera beaming live coverage of in-tank activity to widescreens mounted above the exhibition hall.

Seawork has joined forces with the newly launched magazine H2Op s (formerly Commercial Diver International )installed as the Official Publication of DiveWork 2005 .

RIBwork also made its debut as an independent show within Seawork last year and its success was part of the reason for an extended floating pontoon. With the versatile craft being adapted for an ever expanding range of workboat applications, RIBwork again provides a tempting choice of craft for prospective purchasers to test side by side on Southampton Water New for Seawork 2005 , access to the floating pontoon is via a two lane gangway descending from the quayside to the centre of the in-water exhibition. This improvement will alleviate congestion on the gangway and ensure a shorter walk to floating exhibitors from anywhere else at the show.

Seawork is traditionally the venue for the luncheons and AGMs of a number of maritime organisations such as the UK Harbour Masters’ Association.

Seawork ‘s on the water dimension brings an uniquely maritime atmosphere to all such proceedings. For 2005, boat builders VT Halmatic have brought their newbuild Spirit of Portsmouth for the Portsmouth Harbour Ferry Company to serve as the floating meeting and dining rooms.

Running concurrently with and in the same building as the exhibition, the value added, free to attend Seawork 2005 Conference spans the three days, with many of the presentations linked thematically to DiveWork and RIBwork . The entire conference on Wednesday morning is dedicated to diving issues, with particular emphasis placed on diving safety. Chris Sherman, Chief Inspector of Diving with the Health & Safety Executive, and Harry Leslie, Area Operations Manager/Search & Rescue with the MCA, will both address safety issues.

Tied to RIBwork , Bob Cripps, Technical Director for VT Halmatic, will discuss the design and development of the RNLI’s new 8.3m Atlantic 85 RIB on Tuesday morning. Later that morning, Simon Burt, a Surveyor in the Coded Vessel Safety Branch of the MCA, will field questions on the Small Commercial Vessel & Pilot Boat Code of Practice. In a similar vein, the entire Wednesday afternoon session will address the Introduction and Experience to Date of the Harmonised Code.

Other topics over the three days will include fishing boat safety, the Marine Equipment Directive, the UK planning dilemma in port development, a marine renewable energy overview plus discussions of logistics and opportunities, MOD boat procurement, and EEZ industry opportunities.

A now well established highlight of the Seawork experience is the Tuesday evening Gala Dinner at the Friends Provident St Mary’s Stadium, home to the local Southampton Football Club. The relaxing evening of good food, fine wine, reunions of friendships and networking opportunities has sold out every year since its introduction. Now integral with the ZF Marine sponsored evening are ceremonies announcing the Bond Pearce sponsored Seawork Innovations Showcase award winners and the overall winner of the Spirit of Innovation trophy for 2005.

Introduced at Seawork 2002 , the Innovations Showcase features examples of the marine industries’ best new product developments and is prominently displayed immediately inside the visitor registration area.

For 2005 a new Diving & Underwater category has been added to the established list which also includes Safety & Electronics, Civil Engineering & Marine Contracts, Vessel Design & Construction, and Marine Equipment.