We take a look at what was said in the market in the past week.
Thomas Wilhelmsen the fifth generation of his family to head the Norwegian group looks back on 150 years of shipowning.
(Boring maybe but ‘we deliver’)
"A sunshine story in a world of boring company books... Run and buy it."
Newsman (and TradeWinds founder) Kaare Valebrokk finds something to his taste in a corporate history.
(Royalty will help company mark 150 years in business)
“We have always followed transparency and welcome owners who want to audit and look at our books. We don’t mind being checked up on because the industry now requires strong financial governance.”
Wilhelmsen Ship Management chief Carl Schou says the days of backhanders and shabby business practices in shipmanagement are over.
(Wilhelmsen boosted by ethics push)
“We can help people in a difficult market make money. We keep assets working and that is absolutely what they need....shipowners, I think, get a very good deal out of us but they will not stand up and say ‘these guys are great value for money’ because that is not the way they are."
V Ships boss Clive Richardson thinks shipmanagers do not get the recognition they deserve.
(V Ships ‘ticks a lot of boxes’)
“It’s never easy to work for an owner even in the good times when every second seems to count.....On the flip side, it’s not easy working for an owner who has been losing money."
Industry veteran Peter Cremers of Anglo-Eastern Ship Management seems a little surprised that shipowners are tough taskmasters.
(Anglo-Eastern stresses training)
“The ISM is not working in the way it was implemented in the mid-1990s. It has simply become the managers who write the systems and the consequence is that people on ships have become form-fillers and their esteem has gone....I think we need to hand back self-respect to the ship. We’ve tried to do that at our own company and say to the superintendent, ‘trust the guys on the ship’.”
Alastair Evitt of Meridian Marine Management has a solution to one of the ills of industry.
(Give crews back their self-respect)
“The carriers’ attempts to impose peak-season surcharges have failed completely and current spot rates on the trade are 36% less than in the same period last year..... with a peak season looking more like a bleak season, base rates are starting to slip.”
Broker GFI suggests the container lines have missed the boat this year.
(Peak season a flop as lines look to scale back)
“We expect to see a marked increase in the lay-up of particularly smaller vessels as bigger vessels are increasingly cascaded into feeder loops in order to fill up capacity.”
And Platou also expects to see more containership anchors dropping.
Harry Yerkes, the new chairman of IUMI’s ocean hull committee, finds playing the hull market and across a green baize table has something in common
(IUMI hull boss hopes to break chain of loss announcements)
“The downward pressure on new vessel rates continued to resemble the Californian gold rush as a lemming-like herd of underwriters, throughout the year, chased the allure of new tonnage and chased down the rates.”
PL Ferrari is not expecting big general increases from the P&I clubs as it issues the first of the broker pre-renewal reports.
(PL Ferrari frowns on ‘gold rush’ P&I deals)
“The random nature of claims is an integral part of our business and we have the balance sheet strength and processes to manage them efficiently and effectively.”
Gard chief Claes Isacson acknowledges that he is in risk business.
(Worst result for Gard in three years)
“I finally took my children and made contacts with the six other families, whose loved ones are in captivity with my husband, and arrived in Karachi to launch my efforts anew.”
Neelum Mujtaba the wife of a ships officer in pirate captivity is a woman of action.
“Many seafarers themselves underestimate the impact [of piracy]. There is a natural bravado among many but the ability to stop and think and talk to someone can do a lot of good in the future.”
Peter Swift, the former Intertanko chief who now chairs the Marine Piracy a Humanitarian Response group believes crew need help once a hijacking is over.
A revelation that a reefer is not another Prestige but Simon Stevens of Star Reefers has still had to pay bail of $272,000 to get the ship released.
"Our fast craft have now suffered damage on nine separate occasions in recent years as a result of fishing gear ingestion in Manx waters."
But an Isle of Man Steam Packet Company spokesman fails to suggest that it's time to abandon kippers (smoked herrings) a local speciality.
“Now is the right time for me to do something entrepreneurial.”
So what was Robin Das doing before ...banking bonuses?
