We are living in a time of vigorous world growth and the liberalization and globalization of world trade, and no industry will be more central to this process than shipping. As in the past, our industry will be driven by the requirements of the market and by advancing technology, and over the next decade we can expect evolutions in the development of all types of ships. This is also a time of transition from prescriptive rules and regulations to the creation of an industry wide safety culture based on self-regulation and self-responsibility, and the classification societies will be at the heart of this. What sort of technical advances can we expect to see in the main types of ships throughout the next 10 years or so, and what will be the problems and risks involved?