The shipyards on the Clyde have dwindled over the years, but a gathering of the Scottish shipping industry tonight will show that the sector is not only alive and well but thriving.

The shipyards on the Clyde have dwindled over the years, but a gathering of the Scottish shipping industry tonight will show that the sector is not only alive and well but thriving.

Around 440 people are expected to gather to dine together and raise funds for the Scottish Shipping Benevolent Association in Glasgow's Crowne Plaza Hotel.

As they mingle, they will have much to talk about. Of course, the work of the society will be one issue. More than 100 years after its foundation, it still hands out tens of thousands of pounds each year to people associated with the industry who have fallen on hard times.

But the event is, in effect, the shipping industry's annual gathering and those in attendance have much to celebrate. The country no longer builds many of the vessels that roam the world's seas. But in the crucial, and blossoming, area of ship management Scotland's presence is expanding.

Around 345 vessels, with a combined weight of 16 million deadweight tonnes are managed directly from Glasgow. But overall the city's ship managers have influence over a total of 1500 ships with a deadweight of around 50 million tonnes through offices across the world.

Bob Bishop, association president and the Glasgow-based chief executive of VShips Shipmanagement, said the shipping sector is booming. "We have not had this number of people attending the dinner in many years. A lot of the demand is due to the technical skill there is around the Glasgow companies. In the 1970s, there were a lot of people going to sea from the Glasgow area. They are now looking for jobs onshore which means a constant supply of good people who can manage ships."

The sector is being boosted by industry trends. Bishop sees second or third-generation members of Greek shipping families returning to run their forbearers' companies with business degrees but without the inclination to do the actual ship management themselves.

Many shipping companies are now listed, and ship management is one of the areas that shareholders believe can be outsourced to provide cost savings.

"Many companies don't have the competence or the inclination. After all who wants to be called at three in the morning because a turbocharger is broken?" he sad.

Currently, the management of about 12% of the world's 45,000 biggest ships is outsourced, Bishop estimates. His own company runs more than 80 ships out of Glasgow and he has an interest in another 900 that are run by offices in other countries.

Bishop believes that this is a trend that will only continue.

But there are still a few thorny problems to be discussed over the coffee and mints. The biggest headache Bishop has is finding people to man the ships.

"Today you can still get crew but can you get really competent crew?"

He believes that increasing restrictions over letting crew go to shore and the liabilities they face if things go wrong mean many reject working in the industry.

Among those addressing the audience tonight will be David Dingle, chief executive of Carnival UK and president of the UK Chamber of Shipping, and James Wilson, senior partner of Ince & Co, a shipping lawyer.

The Scottish Shipping Benevolent Association was originally formed as the Glasgow Shipowners' and Shipbroker's Benevolent Association in 1899.

A century later, the association broadened its geographical limits to embrace Scotland as a whole to recognise the increasing importance of east coast ports. This year the scope of the society has been further widened to help those who face difficult times beyond those who used to work for ship owning offices.