We take a look at what was said in the market in the past week.
“Anyone can visit, we’ll buy dinner. We’ve got enough cash for that.”
Perhaps Genmar’s not so strapped after all, according to finance chief Jeffrey Pribor who puts out an open invite...but just to bankers.
“Whoever told you guys not to come to capital markets, they’re wrong. You know where to find me.”
Loli Wu of Bank of America Merrill Lynch shoots down Tobias Konig’s plea to Germans to keep their financing in the country...and dishes out his calling card.
“Have the New York capital markets killed Athens?...Global Ship Lease has significantly outperformed gold in the past 12 months.”
Hamish Norton of Jefferies & Co reckons the Greeks haven’t done have bad on the other side of the Atlantic.
“I somehow have gained this reputation as the panel’s pessimist and there’s no reason for me to change that now. The outlook for the next 12 months is not good. We’re probably in for a rough ride. I’m a pessimist - sorry.”
ING’s Rory ‘Fussy’ Hussey is determined not to liven things up at the Hamburg ship finance conference.
“Last year, we were looking at a lot of unknown unknowns. This year, we’re looking at known unknowns.”
UniCredit head of global shipping Holger Janssen gives shipping markets the old Rumsfeld treatment.
"Due to the sudden global financial crisis in the latter half of 2008 and the slump in the global shipping industry, we came into a major crisis in respect of assets and profit loss status."
KLC says it took quite a while for it to realise what was going on as it revealed it has lost over $800m in the last two years.
"In light of the weak market fundamentals and cautious outlook on the dry bulk sector, we maintain our view that more situations like Korea Line are likely to emerge.”
Erik Nikolai Stavseth, an analyst at Arctic Securities, sounds the warning bell for bulker players who think they’ve outfoxed dire markets thus far.
“In such a bloody market, I believe most players have to face cash-flow problems, including GCL or other charterers and owners. It is most important that we should deal with the problem kindly, or with mercy, so that we would support each other and survive together, which will be for the benefit of all of us in the end. Nobody would feel happy or benefit from the current situation of KLC, except lawyers and auditors.”
A senior official at Grand China Logistics hitting back at suggestions the Shanghai-based player is struggling.
(Grand China rejects talk of cash pain.)
“In tankers, focus is still on purchasing more quality vessels in order to become an even more attractive partner for oil companies.”
Danish owner Norden is planning to glam up in order to impress oily suitors.
“We are not negotiating any specific ships. It has to be the right quality assets and it has to be the right price.”
Norden CEO Carsten Mortensen has cash on hand, but not cash to burn as he eyes tanker tonnage.
“We don’t think there is a lasting recovery just around the corner.”
Mortensen is still a little cautious on how tankers are going to go in the short term.
“Frankly, we are very happy that we didn’t invest in capes at Paragon.”
Michael Bodouroglou, CEO of Greek owner Paragon, is pleased he didn’t aim too big to start with.
“We aren’t going to go there unless it starts with an ‘8’.”
A spokesperson for Bluesky LNG on rumours the TMT subsidiary is looking to charter two newbuildings stuck in Daewoo for princely sums...or is just very superstitious in a Chinese sense.
(TMT holding out for stronger rate.)
“With the rising incomes in China, people are eating more meat, which will mean larger imports for soybeans for animal feed.”
Hsu Chih Chen, chairman of Taiwanese owner Courage Marine, is pleased to see Chinese people piling on the pounds these days.
(Courage set to upgrade bulker fleet.)
“The challenge we face is that we are at the tail end of the decisions being made by our parent company. At the same time, we need to have the ships ready to respond to their requirements.”
Kristopher Horvath, Vela’s senior marine-planning consultant, feels a bit left out of the loop by parent oil giant Saudi Aramco.
(How Vela will look in the future depends on its parent.)
“Even now, these guys still come to me in my dreams.”
Mohammed Saif Al-Gusaier, Vela president and CEO, on the hijacking ordeal of the Sirius Star.
Although one imagines he meant “nightmares”.
(Wide experience was key to top dog.)
“Everything is for sale if the price is correct.”
Arne Johan Dale, CFO of Havila Shipping which is rumoured to be selling off another anchor handler.
(Havila anchor-handler put up for sale.)
“China was the missing link in our business strategy and that is the reason we have acquired the two Hong Kong-based companies.”
Shashi Kiran Shetty, head of India’s Allcargo Global Logistics, which has finally become truly ‘global’.
(Logistics player finds China feet.)
“We are not pulling out of the piracy market. We may write less business but we will continue to work with loyal clients.”
Kylie O’Connor, spokesperson for London market insurance boss Robert Hiscox who is still rather keen on piracy.
(Piracy-cover rates fall in price battle.)
“Any figures we give provide the pirates with leverage. They read the same things we do and work out their own equations and that becomes the starting point for setting ransoms. When they see figures like £9m bandied about in the press they think that is what they should be getting.”
O’Connor knows that TradeWinds’ subscriber base in Somalia has increased exponentially over the past three years.
(Piracy-cover rates fall in price battle.)
“I don’t believe beaching can be brought to the next level.”
Tom Peter Blankestijn, Maersk Ship Recycling director, is not taking demolition lying down.
(Thorny subject of beaching fires up recycling delegates.)
“For women, living and working on board ship requires great dedication, tolerance and self-belief. Often they will be the only female on board, with a group of men used to a male only environment. At sea it is impossible to walk away, to change one’s surroundings, or one’s ship-mates.”
Baroness Jane Campbell making an appeal in the House of Lords for a full investigation into the death of a female cadet onboard a Safmarine vessel amidst allegations of rape.
“The foreign ministry does not recommend the use of pleasure craft in these high-risk areas. An alternative is to let a transport company transport pleasure craft through the Gulf of Aden.”
The Danish foreign ministry hands project cargoship owners an unexpected boon as a yacht with seven Danes onboard is hijacked by pirates.
“Captain Decatur, for whom Decatur, Illinois, is named, torched the Philadelphia so it couldn’t be used by the pirates again. I think we could learn an important lesson from that strategy.”
US Republican senator Mark Kirk, who is investigating the links between Somali piracy and terrorism, is certainly willing to make culprits walk the plank.
