This issue is an OI-special; i.e. it pays special attention to Oceanology International Americas. The Oceanology International exhibition series are well known and well visited. This OI Americas will be held in New Orleans, LA, USA, from 4th to 6th June 2003. It will be thus centrally located in proximity to oil industry and oceanography related public and educational institutions. On top of that, New Orleans, with its special European ties through France, will make Europeans feel at home. The Conference, with sessions ranging from climate to national security, has also an Associated Meeting Program (ranging from Alliance for Marine Remote Sensing (AMRS) to Americas Petroleum Survey Group (APSG)). Accompanying the conference is a large exhibition showing the latest products - too much to be summarised here (see www.oiamericas.com for all information). All this will bring together attendees from all sectors of hydrography and oceanography: from science, technology, policy and operations. Hydro international (HI) is proud to be the supporting magazine of OI Americas and we will, of course, be present at the exhibition, where this magazine will be distributed. We will have our own stand: so come and visit us at the GITC-stand (stand 722) to establish and/or refresh personal contacts.

As mentioned, the exhibition will inform participants on the state-of-the-art of technology. But who is going to buy and use it? Focusing only on the oil and gas industry and without going too far into international (energy) politics, an increase is to be expected in exploration and exploitation activities in West African waters from Senegal to Angola and in the waters of India. There is also an increased motivation for pipelines in the Caspian Sea basin. The reasoning behind these expectations: some countries are going to be rewarded for their attitude during the Iraq-crisis, there is a wish to diverge markets and there is growing demand (including for natural gas), especially in the longer term.

Mentioning the Iraq crisis brings to mind the availability of GPS in times of international tension. During the last two weeks of March I sailed from Lisbon to Brest and prepared myself (and the deck officers) for possible degradation of the GPS in relation to military action in the Middle East. I did not notice any disturbance. This saved myself (and all the other users) from having to revert to traditional positioning methods. The answers given by our interviewees well in advance of March on the availability of the GPS in time of crises, published in our GNSS-issue (April 2003), proved to be correct.

We welcome Iain Sinclair as a new member of our Editorial Advisory Board (EAB). Iain Sinclair is a Chartered Hydrographic Surveyor who has been in the business for more than thirty years. He claims to have been gainfully employed in more than 110 countries around the world but says that his real joy is sailing. He enjoys his family life with his wife and three sons, as well as travel, good food and wine. We look forward to his Insider’s View and his advice.