While there were perhaps no new product releases related to hydrographic and construction survey to be reported from this exhibition, current sentiments in the marine survey business in SE Asia may certainly be covered. This was, in addition, the first large-scale show in Singapore to have some marine focus since the cancellation of Oceanology Asia OI2001 (after 11 September tragedy) and was thus expected to be well attended.

Bali Bomb and Scratching Heads
The mood of some of the expatriate survey personnel at the conference was sombre in the wake of the Bali bomb. Although that incident will not reduce offshore oil and gas operations, heightened security is now a fact of life in the region. There is a steady volume of work related to oil field developments in SE Asia. The majority of the survey companies are all busy with routine operations like rig moves and site surveys carried out by the local national staff. It appears expatriates are only used in cases where a complete ship spread is bought in for more complex ROV, geotechnical projects or multibeam surveys related to UNCLOS surveys. Trans-national fibre optic route surveys and cable-laying operations have ground to a halt after a number of years of intense development related to the dot com frenzy. ROV-related work, such as pipeline inspection, now generates considerable business in the region. The work is getting deeper and more complex, thus requiring more ROV work, as developments move into fields further from land, for example the West Natuna pipeline. The marine construction business in Singapore has slowed down drastically over the last few months due to the lack of sand supply for large reclamation projects in Singapore. The Indonesian and Malaysian Governments appear to have halted the permitting of the extraction of sand in their waters while new rates and conditions are negotiated. There was talk that extraction would start again in the first quarter of 2003. Large companies like Hyundai are left scratching their heads on how to get the sand to complete their reclamation projects in Singapore and some companies have to put staff on extended leave until this is resolved.

Heavy Metal Focus
The exhibition hall had a definite 'heavy metal' focus, with many shipbuilding and welding booths. However, marine survey was well represented. The booths included regional dealers for hydrographic products and services (e.g. Hydronav etc.), equipment manufacturers (e.g. Kongsberg Simrad, Odom, Valeport etc.), and survey services companies (e.g. Thales Geosolutions, EGS etc.).
It is noted that during this year surrounding countries such as Malaysia and Brunei have, in fact, run smaller focused conferences with exhibitions related to marine survey.