Editor’s Note

I talk a lot.

Perhaps too much.

But it is an inherent element of my professsion in the timely collection and dissemination of information.

More importantly, though, is that I know when to shut up and listen. No matter how many hours I spend on the phone or in myriad meetings during a given year, there is always one conversation that stands out; one conversation that conveys more than the others combined. I had the pleasure of that conversation last month in a conference call with Admiral Robert E. Kramek, (USCG retired), President and COO, ABS Americas, and co-chairman of the conference's technical committee, and Dr. Henry S. Marcus, Professor of Marine Systems in the Ocean Engineering Department at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Ostensibly arranged to discuss the forthcoming World Maritime Technology Conference (WMTC), the name for this year’s conference portion of the SNAME 2003 Annual Meeting and Exhibition scheduled for October 17-20 in San Francisco, I was pleased to receive information and insights that transcended a simple question and answer session, allowing me to tap the considerable fount of knowledge and decades of experience before me. For the record, WMTC is an ambitious endeavour to bring the world together in San Francisco to discuss the many challenges, present and future, that will shape the maritime industry. Adm. Kramek and Dr. Marcus, co-chairment of the WMTC technical committee, have helped to amass arguably the most impressive and most extensive base of marine expertise under one roof. Read the overview of the program, starting on page 34, or visit www.worldmaritimetechnology.org for complete details. Off-the-record, they provided to me opinions and insights on pressing technical issues, such as ...

... I guess I can’t share that here, remember, I also know when to shut up. Maybe they’ll provide more exclusive insights in San Francisco.