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60 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News England expects that every man will do his duty and attend a series of events around Britain to commemorate the bicentenary of the Battle of Trafalgar and the death of Admiral Lord Nelson. Yacht races round the Isle of Wight; a Festival of the Sea; and an International Fleet Review involving ships from 35 nations — making up the largest ever multinational gathering of ships in his- tory — are amongst a raft of events taking place throughout Britain this summer to demonstrate the country's heritage as a great seafaring nation and one-time world's great- est shipbuilders. Of course, British shipbuilding is likely to never again enjoy the kind of order book that results in an annual output of 2.5 million tons, as it did when it peaked in 1920, but it is entering a renaissance period in which 25- 30 vessels are built annually and a reputation for sound repair and conversion work gener- ates up to $3.6 billion per year. One view is that the U.K. shipbuilding industry has now realized that it's much bet- ter off concentrating on the vessels it can build and investing in better marketing strategies so that it can compete more effec- tively with the Northern European yards. This became apparent five years ago when the U.K. government supported a bench- marking exercise from which it was con- cluded that the shipbuilding industry can compete effectively without any vast increase in capital investment or new tech- nology. Circle 303 on Reader Service Card Circle 254 on Reader Service Card 2005 YEARBOOK UK: Still a Maritime Force A yacht being built at Pendennis in the UK. As celebrations begin commemorating its former naval glories and maritime heritage, Maritime Reporter reports on how the UK maritime industry is enjoying a shipbuilding and repairing renaissance and con- templating new market opportunities. MR JUNE 2005 #8 (57-64).qxd 6/2/2005 4:09 PM Page 60
