We take a look at what was said in the market in the past week.
“Owners are jumping off buildings. The market is absolutely diabolical. It makes absolutely no financial sense to trade at these levels.”
One leading dry-cargo broker reckons the dire dry-bulker market is having the lemmings effect on some owners.
“There will be a lot of owners looking for a new home and charterers will be looking for owners who have a more balanced philosophy, not the big risk takers. There will be a shift in the market where people will be willing to lower their time-charter rates to get into a safer home.”
U-Sea CEO Per Lange also reckons the current bulker market is anything but safe as houses.
(U-Sea boss pessimistic over dry-cargo prospects.)
“I hate to admit the listing does not carry a lot of weight for our investors as there is not a big trade on the share. But for our customers it gives a big trust in what we are doing.”
Lange lets slips that U-Sea investors could be quite lonely on the Copenhagen bourse.
(Copenhagen listing ‘an asset worth preserving’.)
“It’s a good time for Indonesian owners to buy tankers as prices have come down to levels they can afford.”
A source reckons Indonesian owners are still in the bargain basement bracket as they take state oil giant Pertamina’s advice and renew their fleets.
(Single-hull tankers lose appeal in Indonesia.)
"Bjorn has a charismatic and open management style, and the board is convinced that Wartsila is well positioned to pursue its strategy of profitable growth under his leadership.”
Wartsila hires the Michael ‘Ryanair’ O’Leary of shipping, apparently, as Bjorn Rosengren is appointed new president and CEO.
“It is difficult to find profitable fixtures in this collapsed market and it has become even worse since our filing for rehabilitation in court. In this circumstance, we have set our internal policy to lay up some chartered vessels.”
With very little real work left out there, a KLC official decides it’s time to give it a rest.
(Owners facing charter re-jigs.)
“Daelim has chosen not to pay for the two tankers as it hopes to offset the amount that KLC owes the company.”
A source as Daelim Corp withholds charter hire for two KLC ships as the latter holds off paying for one of the former’s units.
(Duo move to offset owed hire payments.)
“I have a very good organization. Sometimes it works even better when I’m not here!”
Alberto Aleman Zubieta, administrator of the Panama Canal, seems intent on making himself redundant.
(Taking the bull by the horns.)
“That’s what you’re trying to prevent. You don’t simply sit down and say, ‘deliver’. You have to be looking over the contractor’s shoulder.”
Aleman also reveals himself as a terrible backseat driver.
(Taking the bull by the horns.)
“I left that job 15 years ago. I can’t change my history. But if they do something I don’t like, I can take them to arbitration.”
Aleman hits back at any suggestions arising from a leaked US cable from Wikileaks that he was up to any shenanigans.
“We don’t want to touch it with the longest pole we have.”
A canal engineer throws cold water as the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) is reportedly tapped up to run the state’s waterworks agency.
(Canal’s prestige generates its own ‘political hazards’.)
“Everybody in the world is shopping for the same trends, fashions and technologies, and so it becomes easier to enter a market as long as you have a physical presence.”
Rodolfo Sabonge, market research vice-president for ACP, reckons big is beautiful when it comes to canal apparel.
(Panama awaits positive benefits.)
“We’re all learning. All of our engineers, no matter how clever, have not necessarily been exposed to the many areas that this project comprises.”
Jorge Quijano of the ACP admits those working on the globally imperative canal project are coming across surprises on a daily basis.
(Taking the bull by the horns.)
“We are a fully-fledged maritime country with our own lawyers and our own body of laws. If you went to a Liberian or Marshallese lawyer for an opinion, you might get something very funny.”
Jorge Loaiza of maritime law firm Arias, Fabrega & Fabrega reckons rivals further afield are often a bunch of jokers.
(Private-public set-up both hinders and helps Panama.)
“If a Panamanian diplomat partied like that in Tokyo and then tried to expense it, he would be on the front page of La Prensa the next day.”
One source laments the lack of freedom when it comes to expenses time for Panama Registry officials.
(Private-public set-up both hinders and helps Panama.)
“The MV Irene SL was not registered with MSC (HOA), but was reporting to UKMTO.”
EU NAVFOR points at least a small finger at NS Lemos after the Greek’s VLCC was hijacked by pirates.
“The Irene SL was registered with both MSC (HOA) and UKMTO yesterday (8 February) and also a new position was given to both between the registration and the attack.”
But Greek manager Enesel SA hits back claiming it was only following the rules to the letter of the law.
“Piracy is a global menace and we are all alarmed that it is outpacing the efforts of the international community to defeat it.”
UN secretary general Ban Ki Moon gives a frank admission that we are all just not doing enough to defeat Somali pirates.
“The time has come for you, dear customers of Beluga Chartering GmbH, to learn about additional cost items which will be effective from now on and in the future.”
Beluga gives a heads-up – and a new, larger invoice – to customers in the wake of the tragic hijacking saga of its Beluga Nomination.
(Beluga drafts piracy charge.)
“It appears as if last week tragically a second crew member has been killed by the pirates, which contradicts to what has been assumed earlier. Furthermore, the missing chief engineer of the vessel probably has tried to escape from the escalating situation on board, just like two of his colleagues, and that obviously he has jumped into the sea and might have drowned.”
The German owner learns that the situation onboard was even more grim than it had first feared.
“The rebel network is certainly not what it once was when young men in the creeks bragged to the ladies about their affiliation to the group – real or not – at weekend parties “in order to get hero sex”, to quote a usually well-informed source.”
Security consultancy Bergen Risk Solutions reckons Nigerian piracy is just not as sexy as it once was – although it remains potent.
