In Japan, most companies having shipyards exhibit their activities in both newbuilding and repairing. And, in such a company, newbuilding is apt to takeprecedence over repairing. Under this circumstances, there are some technical and human difficulties for shiprepairers to establish independent movement.
Now, Singapore is one of the biggest centers of shiprepairing in the world. And, in Singapore, shiprepairing takes precedence over newbuilding. It is expected for Singapore to take the initiative in solving technical problems which the world has.
[Reference]
1) Wada, T., "Inspection and Maintenance of Hull Structures". Lecture at Technical Symposium on 'Safety of Ageing Ships" organized by The Society of Naval Architects of Japan, July 1995.
2) Wada, T., "Towards Shiprepairing in the 21st century". Lecture at technical seminor on new technology in shipping and shipbuilding held at Singapore, December 1991.
