68 participants from around the world take part in the conference. The conference programme was opened on 21 April by opening a thematic book exhibition at the library premises relating to the shipbuilding and maritime heritage contained in the holdings of the University Library in Rijeka. Within the conference the exhibition "Across the Seas of the World" by author Nikša Mendeš was opened at the Maritime and History Museum of the Croatian Littoral, while thematic movies will be given at the cinema "Art-kino Croatia".

The conference participants were welcomed by the mayor Vojko Obersnel and the county president Zlatko Komadina. Conferences dedicated to the shipbuilding industry and the related topics, where exhibitors talked about various types of historic vessels, shipbuilding, shipbuilders, seamen and underwater parks occupied the first day of the conference. The second day of the conference is designated to general heritage topics from the field of industrial architecture.
The conference is an occasion for international professionals from the field of shipbuilding heritage to gather and exhibit their works and exchange experiences about always actual topics of the shipbuilding industry and its logistic, about past, the present moment as well as its future development, difficulties, trends, technology, operating and legislating bodies, and challenges that the shipbuilding industry is yet going to encounter.
The conference theme was, among others, initiated by the world economic crisis, causing so far unseen pressure, not only on the shipbuilding industry, which at the same time offers a unique opportunity to international experts to take into consideration tactics and strategies that would enable the shipbuilding industry to survive under such unstable circumstances.
(V.T.)