SHIPWELD project will focus on a metal welding process applied to the ship building industry. The objective is to design a monitoring technique aiming to perform a good quality welding joint on a typical application in the ship building industry with a fully automatic welding system unit. Up to now the different section plates of ships are welded manually which causes inaccuracies due to the poor repeatability of the process. As a consequence of the working environment where the welding process takes place the welding staff risks their lives. The R&D activities focus the attention on monitoring the welding process of hulls. The project will yield new knowledge and understanding about different welding processes and the research activities to be performed will allow the online control and adjustment of the parameters and the welding path to ensure a good welded seam.