Around 200 delegates from all sectors of the Dutch maritime industry attended a Y2K seminar organized by Dutch-Belgian surveying group Touw Holding. Representatives of banks, insurers, shipowners, salvors, government bodies, lawyers, surveyors, ship agents, and the Dutch Red Cross heard about the state of Y2K readiness of the Dutch shipping industry, and the crucial role surveyors will play in assessing Y2K claims. "The onus is on insurers to prove that damage claims are the result of the millennium problem, and they will be heavily reliant on the observations of surveyors," says Touw partner and managing director Maup Hoppzak. At the same time, says Hoppzak, claimants will have to prove that all possible steps were undertaken to prevent Y2K-related claims.