Sleepless nights then for Nobu Su who blames the casino capitalism of commodity traders and contrasts the sink or swim fate of shipping companies with government rescues of ailing banks.
(The best and worst of days by Nobu Su)
“We have not committed any crime and yet we are being punished. I just want to go home. I am not interested in money. If I die here on this ship, then money is no good to me.”
Another plea for help from Capt Khan Jubair Niaz stranded on the TMT combination carrier A Whale along with an increasingly mutinous crew.
“If help hasn’t gotten there already, it is on the way. Money is on the way for provisions, for crew salaries, for bunkers, for lubes.”
But an assurance from TMT’s bankruptcy lawyer, Evan Flaschen.
(Master fears for life as mutiny worries escalate on 'A Whale')
“A lot of tanker companies have declared bankruptcy and are selling assets at loss making, low prices. We need to evaluate the cost of selling an asset versus the cost to continue trading it. Where we find a good opportunity to sell, we will do so.”
Yee Yang Chien explains why MISC wants to trim its tanker fleet by 10%.
(Malaysian giant rethinks tanker market exposure)
“I don’t believe it is temporary, there will certainly be some corrections. However, I feel we are past the worst and heading up. I think we are very close to hitting the $20,000 mark. On the bigger sizes, I think we can all expect better things going into 2014, but that does not mean we should all get crazy and take big risks.”
George Kalogeropoulos of Enterprises Shipping & Trading welcomes an upturn in the capesize bulker market.
(Greece bullish on capesize prospects)
“I have a strange feeling after 40 years as a shipbroker that we are seeing a slight sea change and a sentiment change of confidence.”
ACM’s Johnny Plumbe is feeling more confident about prospects for the industry.
(Plumbe spots confidence boost)
“They’re interested in a cheap ship.”
And thats more or less the extent of charterers involvement according to George Gourdomichalis.
“Dishonest people with less than honest methods have no business amongst us. Everybody in the world looks to the ship. This has to stop.”
I wonder who Spyros Polemis had in mind?
(Fighting talk sees charterers come under fire)
“Well, their stock hit an all time low today. Investors are finally starting to figure it out. They [NAT] think they’re genius issuing [shares] above [net asset value] but pretty soon that piggy bank is going to run out. Eventually they’ll have to leave Candyland and come back to the real world.”
Evercore Partners analyst, Jonathan Chappell, takes another stab at developing his relationship with Herbjorn Hansson.
John Xylas of Ariston Navigation appears to realise the importance of ensuring Venus, Mercury and Jupiter are aligned when you are splashing out more than $60m on kamsarmaxes
(Ariston scoops kamsarmax resale duo)
“Brokers and musical chairs: those two things have always gone together. It’s natural. In 1982, four of us set up ACM Shipping and here we are 30 odd years later a very established shipbroking company.”
But ACM’s Johnny Plumbe suggests growth is still possible that despite the loss of some key brokers.
(ACM moves fast to rebuild S&P arm with global hires)
“There is a massive gulf between being in the niche and mainstream market. If you think you are going to organically grow from one to the other, that is almost inconceivable in today’s world.”
Nick Maddalena sees no route to being another Henry Marsh, Donald McLennan, Henry Willis or even a Patrick Ryan for the small fry of the insurance world.
(Barbican snaps up niche marine broker Seacurus)
“We are brothers, we love each other and all that good stuff, and we just didn’t want to ruin our friendship, so we thought it best that John would do his thing and I would do mine.”
But clearly there are limits to Mike Meade’s fraternal feelings when it comes to business.
(Meade brothers decide to end M3 partnership)
“You can’t have a finance director who is not a chartered accountant so it is pretty odd that you can have the head of a P&I club’s management who has no piece of paper saying he is qualified to run an insurance company.”
Shipowners’ Club chief executive Charles Hume admits he is “unqualified” but he is working to change the P&I mutuals.
(Clubs set to tackle issue of unqualified mutual managers)
“If you get the right contract, and it works, you will save costs. Get it wrong and it will be very expensive.”
The International Group’s Andrew Bardot reports the outcome of an analysis into 20 of the most costly casualties to hit the P&I clubs.
(Clubs told to challenge governments on costs)
“I think one reason we have not seen more mergers is that it costs Gard and the American Club — the biggest and smallest clubs — the same to buy reinsurance.”
Lars Rhodin of the Swedish Club identifies a reason consolidation has not progressed among the P&I mutuals.
(Swedish Club looks to diversify with OSVs top of the list)
“The consequences of poor decision making when protecting vessels from the threat of pirate hijack can mean the difference between life or death, kidnap or escape, quick and favourable litigation or protracted and costly losses, insurance or no insurance, forced incarceration or continued freedom, ownership of or the lengthy loss of an asset.”
A warning and a sales pitch from former Royal Marine Eric Conway of Protection Vessels International.
(The financial imperative of private armed security)
“It is in the interests of the claimants in rem and of the defendant shipowner that the vessel is sold for the best possible price. The marshal’s method of sale - appraisement, advertisement and invitations to bid - is designed to achieve just that. The marshal is an officer of the court whose role is essential to the administration of justice in the Admiralty Court. He acts impartially. He does not act for any of the claimants in rem or for the defendant shipowner."
London high court judge, Justice Teare, is against private deals when it comes to forced ship sales.
"We don't want it to become an international joke, and we don't want it to turn into an example of Chinese investment failures."
Wang Jing is very serious about a deal to build a $40m ship canal linking the Atlantic via the Caribbean Sea with the Pacific.
Clearly Arnold Donald the new Carnival chief executive is a guy with a good handle on management speak and embarkation is also so antediluvian. But maybe there are other possibilities here. Offboarding of the Costa Concordia sounds so much more civilised than evacuation.
