SINCERE thanks to Toby Jones and Friends of the Ship who on Saturday welcomed the public to glimpse a great city treasure. Their 12 years’ dedication and hard work preserving the Newport Ship was clearly visible on the open day and the rewards of this work more recognisable than ever. Immense enthusiasm for this project has resurfaced in light of the major advances in research and technological capabilities it brings to Newport and to the UK as a whole.

Innovative practices developed through the recovery and preservation of the ship made Newport something of a hotspot for pioneering waterlogged wood preservation techniques. Highly specialised methods for reverse-engineering the ship, laser scanning, 3D modelling software and novel manufacturing processes have provided incredibly valuable opportunities for Wales’ academics, engineers and researchers. None of this would have been possible without the Ship, and these new capabilities are here to stay.

Many of us marvelled at the evolution of 3D printing over the past year. This weekend, I saw a 3D product laser sintering for the very first time: not on TV, not in a lab, not in some futuristic tech exhibition in Silicon Valley, but right here in an industrial estate unit in Maesglas.

Gary Alyis Coedkernew