Since 1976, the International Symposium on Boat and Ship Archaeology (ISBSA) has traditionally served as a platform to publicise recent ship finds and new nautical material, and to outline the results of ship-related archaeological, historical and technical research.

In 2018, twenty-four years after the 7th ISBSA, held in 1994 in France at the island of Tatihou, the Centre Camille Jullian (Aix-Marseille University, CNRS, Ministry of Culture and Communication), will host in Marseilles, France, the 15th ISBSA about the following theme (More details):

Open sea, closed sea
Local traditions and inter-regional traditions in shipbuilding

Besides this main theme, the ISBSA 15 remains a forum focused on progress and developments in nautical archeology and will be open to the following usual themes (More Details):

- Recent discoveries of significant ship finds
- Studies in ship construction
- Advances in research methods
- Experimental nautical archaeology
- Nautical ethnography

Finally, ISBSA 15 is open to the presentation of significant finds from all parts of the world and we strongly encourage participation from colleagues outside Europe.