Last year Germanischer Lloyd and Mühlhan sponsored a Surface Protection Symposium in October in Lübeck, dealing with the topic of value retention in the shipping industry. The outcome was a lively exchange of ideas among shipowners, coating material manufacturers and surface protection experts. Up-to-date findings from research were discussed with the same vitality as problems from workaday practice. This report provides an overview of the events involved. After Dr. Richter from Germanischer Lloyd had welcomed those attending, Mr. Harms — also from Germanischer Lloyd — described both the development and current status of international stipulations for the assessment of corrosion in water ballast tanks…