John Martin, an independent technical advisor with 30 years of experience in the shipbuilding industry, was hired by the USAID to speak at the event about the building of small ships.
In Great Britain alone, 39,500 small ships are sold annually, while in Germany and France 23,000 and 26,000 small vessels are sold annually. In the 2003-2004 period, only 270 vessels ranging in length from 2.5 to 15 metres, were sold in Croatia, it was said at the event, which was organised as part of the USAID project "Enterprising Croatia".
The event was organised because of Croatia's shipbuilding tradition, the growing global demand for vessels, and Croatia's integration with the EU.
Martin said that the world's shipbuilding industry recorded a growth of more than 10 percent annually.
Foreign companies were lately opening their branches in Croatia in search of cheap labour, Martin said, adding that Croatia should not build the image of a country building cheap ships, but rather quality vessels.
He urged setting standards in the shipbuilding industry and warned about lack of quality control in the process of production.