Dear friends,

We are very pleased and honored to invite you to the XXI Pan American Congress of Naval Engineering, to be held in Montevideo, Uruguay, from October 18th to the 22nd this year.

We have accepted the challenge of adding will and brains, enhancing them with the affection and synergism that arise whenever we meet, to create an opportunity to work jointly for the progress of Naval Engineering and all related industries and services.

The scope of our activity is further multipled if the human life’s safety at sea is to be increased and if the environment and the assets are to be taken care of and protected. Are these issues not in the agendas of our Navies, the Classification Societies and many Non Governmental Organizations? All of them will have their time and space at XXI COPINAVAL.

As growing requires energy, there will be a special chapter devoted to off-shore oil drilling in the continental shelf. Moreover, there will be sessions devoted to education, research, river and maritime transportation, naval repair and construction, port activity among other topics. As we are used to seeing at the conferences and symposia organized by the Pan American Institute of Naval Engineering, we will surely be surprised by discussions on many novel issues that will undoubtedly arise our interest.

MARINEXPO 2009 (the fair held jointly with XXI COPINAVAL) will provide all companies — large and small, national and international— a shopwindow to exhibit the quality of their products and the fruit of their good management under harsh times. Additionally, a business round will help us find points of contact and grasp the best opportunities for complementation.

None of us is a passenger in this naval industry ship: we are all crew. That is why we use the call used at sailing ships when circumstances demand it:All hands on deck!

Looking forward to seeing you in Montevideo, with the our usual affection

Ing. Julio Cóppola President of the XXI Copinaval	Ing. Ernesto Marta President of the Organizing Committee