The organizers of the Ninth International Marine Design Conference have planned a ship design conference and invite all professionals involved in the design of commercial and naval ships, and offshore platforms to attend. The aim of International Marine Design Committee (IMDC) is to promote all aspects of marine design as an engineering discipline with particular emphasis on issues of synthesis. The Ninth Conference will support and further this aim through a presentation of a keynote presentation and a strong technical program. The conference program will also return to the earlier practice of presenting state-of-the-art reports. The four focus areas of the Ninth IMDC conference are Naval Ship Design, Commercial Ship Design, Offshore Design, and Inland and Great Lakes Design.