A MAJOR international marine exhibition opened its doors in Southampton to visitors from around the world when seawork2004 was launched on the city's waterfront yesterday.

Since the first seawork exhibition in 1998, the event has grown in size to become Europe's leading commercial marine showcase, with 350 companies on display together with 60 vessels alongside a purpose-built marina in Southampton's Western Docks.

This year's event, which finishes its three-day run tomorrow, is estimated to have increased in size by 30 per cent compared to the exhibition held in the port in 2003.

Delegates, organisations and manufacturers from Canada, USA, Italy, Norway, France, Finland and the Netherlands as well as across the UK are all featured at the exhibition, which is being staged at the Canary Islands Fruit Terminal.

Getting the event off to a high-speed start was Steve Curtis, the five- times world powerboat champion from Southampton.

Up to 5,000 visitors are expected to flock to the exhibition, which covers the many activities connected with commercial marine operations such as dredging, surveying, towage, pilotage and safety services. Running in conjunction with seawork2004, organised by Fareham based Mercator Media, are seminars on topics such as waterfront maritime projects and Ministry of Defence boat procurement.