We take a look at what was said in the market in the past week.
“We want to create a certain atmosphere, a five-star setting, as soon as people arrive to travel. I am concerned our customers, who are expecting that, will instead be asked to mix with lorry drivers, who in the summer suffer from BO, wear shorts and no shirt and in some cases won't have shaved for days.”
Lord Sterling, chairman of UK cruiseship owner Swan Hellenic, sticks his nose up (figuratively at least) at vest-wearing truckers.
(Sterling angers ‘smelly’ drivers.)
"There will also be young people, looking to travel as cheaply as possible as foot passengers on services to Bilbao, lolling around. We have all been young and they behave themselves well, but if they lay around, as they have a right to do, our customers may trip over them. Segregation between these customers and our cruiseship passengers would be better to create a five-star atmosphere.”
Sterling clearly doesn’t believe the people of our future deserve the five-star treatment.
(Sterling angers ‘smelly’ drivers.)
“He's clearly not in touch with the working man.”
What gave it away, haulage firm manager Frank Dixie: the ‘Lord’ or the ‘Sterling’?
(Sterling angers ‘smelly’ drivers.)
“I need to choose wisely what I spend my time with: the best thing that comes along, not the first thing. It could be social, it could be philanthropic. It’s not how I fill my days but that I don’t overfill them.”
Bjorn Moller is making no promises about life after Teekay...except that it should be a lot quieter.
(Tanker boss hands over on top note.)
“I have to find another Peter Evensen.”
Moller’s successor is frantically scrolling through ‘E’ in the Vancouver telephone directory.
(Evensen set to rework priorities as ‘Mr Inside’.)
“Peter is the perfect guy to lead the company because he’s the only one that understands the financial structure he’s created.”
A financial source raises an interesting point: is this what Evensen was after all along?!
(Evensen set to rework priorities as ‘Mr Inside’.)
“I will not be retired but I will step down from the position and try to live a quieter life.”
Carl Steen who is stepping down as head of Nordea bank soon to concentrate on golf and other matters.
“In 2008 we worried about 2009 and then about 2010 but we now see 2011 as a pretty crucial year.”
Federico Deodato, boss of Italian P&I broker PL Ferrari, is clearly a man preoccupied by the future.
(Ferrari hot on the P&I circuit.)
“The MBO business plan is on track but you don’t become rich doing this business. Overheads are a lot higher than elsewhere but you can make a reasonably good living out of it if you are prepared to work 10 or 12 hours a day.”
‘Down-at-Heel’ Deodato enjoys working half the day for half nothing.
(Ferrari hot on the P&I circuit.)
“Turnover of clients is basically non-existent...If we feel that we might lose something, we will fight like street dogs to keep it.”
Deodato is willing to bare his teeth when guarding the exit gates.
(Ferrari hot on the P&I circuit.)
“Historically, there has been a tradition in many places in the world for relatively loose contractual relationship between customers and companies that have built on an understanding of how to do business together. But the last few years the market has been more volatile than before. This has led some uncertainty about how to interpret a gentleman's agreement in a situation where rates may fluctuate by several hundred dollars in a short time.”
Karsten Kildahl, director of sales and marketing at Maersk Line which is giving up the system of winks and nods in favour of hard-and-fast contracts.
“When it comes to a choice between cutting dividends and issuing a lot of shares, we thought it was the right choice. Dilution is forever. Dividends can be reinstated.”
Jeffrey Pribor, Genmar’s CFO, as the Peter Georgiopoulos company looks to shed elderly tonnage to plug an equity gap.
(Genmar says ships sales not banks’ idea.)
“I don’t know if it was the chicken or the egg but there are an awful lot of cracked shells around.”
An unidentified market observer on TransCanada, which is looking to sell off its CNG business, after it pulled the plug on purchasing a Colombian outfit.
(TransCanada and partner OSG bow out of CNG race.)
“It is fair to state that right now the downside on values is greater than the upside.”
Norwegian S&P broker Nordic Shipping on weak tanker markets.
(Teekay unmoved by falling values.)
“Greater transparency in pricing would help us allay the mistrust bred by today’s opaque pricing strategies.”
Arthur Worsley, a broker at Freight Investor Services, as the Shanghai Containerized Freight Index reaches its first birthday.
(Faith grows in spot-rate barometer.)
“History gives us a good idea of how this will end.”
FIS gives its thoughts on the decision by box giants CSCL and MSC to pile on capacity as the markets continue to creek.
(Two lines buck capacity-reduction trend as market tightens.)
“The hawks are circling.”
A broker on Nobu Su’s TMT which is struggling to meet payments on a pair of LNG newbuildings.
(TMT under pressure to pay Daewoo.)
“I am not in the future-predicting business.”
OSG boss Morten Arntzen is keeping the lid on things as analysts point to it as a major beneficiary from the decision by Sinopec to invest heavily in the Brazilian offshore market.
(OSG in ‘pole position’ to benefit from China deal.)
“The loss of Giuseppe d’Amico is a reason for great sadness for all Italian shipping. With him goes one of the great protagonists of Italian shipping, representing a generation of entrepreneurs courageous to take new initiatives and new investments.”
Paolo d'Amico, president of the Italian shipowners association Confitarma, pays a glowing tribute to Fratelli d’Amico’s later president who died this week after nearly 70 years in the business.
“We have been speaking to HSBC and other banks. They didn’t think much of us on our own, of course.”
David Surplus, Boss of Northern Ireland-based green energy group B9 Shipping . Perhaps the surname is making banks a little jealous, David?
(Big ambitions for biomass transport.)
“After the first five ships maybe the Welsh guys would go home and we would begin to take over.”
Surplus reckons a whole squad of Welshmen could be flown in to build biomass newbuildings at Sunderland’s Pallion Shipyard...which could have a cracking choir in no time.
