Seawork has launched for the 26th successive year in Southampton.

Located in Mayflower Park, the three-day event is Europe’s largest on-water commercial marine and workboat exhibition.

Showcasing more than 450 exhibitors, more than 7,500 visitors are expected to attend the annual event, that opened its doors on Tuesday.

Speaking to the Echo, the event organiser and chief executive of Mercator Media, Andrew Webster, said: “Seawork started life in the QE2 terminal in the eastern docks in 1998 with about 80 exhibitors and 1,800 visitors.

“This year we’ve got about 450 exhibitors and 7,500 visitors. We’re really proud of the way the event has grown, it’s always been based in Southampton and probably 40 per cent of our exhibitors have a Solent postcode.

Andrew Webster, chief executive of Mercator Media (Image: Newsquest) “It’s a bit forgotten but the work that goes into maintaining the port, safety and security, managing the coastline, cables to the Isle of Wight, makes the industry very capital intensive and keeps trade running, which is very important for the future of Southampton.”

READ MORE: Maritime UK Solent to attend Seawork in Mayflower Park

Andrew added that local schools were expected to attend the final day of the event on Thursday and could potentially find a career in the industry that they go on to pursue.

He said: “We want to get as many people involved as we can. On Thursday we’ve got children from 16 schools here, and they’ll have a chance to explore and perhaps even take an interest in the marine industry and want to pursue a career in it further forward.”

Among the exhibitors at the event was Jake Cosser, from BHG Marine, a marine broker in Lymington.

Jake Cosser at Seawork (Image: Newsquest) Jake said Seawork was always popular and a great event to have in Southampton.

He added: “This is a great local show and it’s one of the best as well.

“We’ve been coming here for a couple of years, so it’s fantastic to have it in Southampton.”

Adrian Fowler alongside the GO2 Pro (Image: Newsquest) Adrian Fowler, a technical sales manager for Alphageo, stopped visitors in their tracks, showing off a GO2 Pro – an advanced intelligent bionic quadruped robot – that was able to walk, jump, and wave.

He said: “Something like this costs just under £4,000, it could help anyone from emergency service to anyone interested in artificial intelligence.”