Eagle Bulk Shipping chief executive Gary Vogel has a reputation among colleagues for preparation.
Perhaps a little too much preparation.
“Gary arrives over-prepared for everything, which is quite commendable if somewhat annoying,” said International Seaways chief executive Lois Zabrocky as she handed over the Connecticut Maritime Association (CMA) commodore’s hat to Vogel at a gala dinner on Thursday in Stamford, Connecticut.
Vogel did wear Zabrocky’s hat…for a few minutes. But it seems Mr Preparation had done a little research into this thing called “the commodores’ curse”, which has seen some recipients of the tri-corner crash into market slumps, plunge into bankruptcy and part ways with their employers.
“This hat, at times, has been less than lucky,” Vogel told the audience.
“Many of you know I love a good hedge…so in the interest of risk management, I thought it’s never a bad day to hedge.”
With that Vogel opened a box and pulled out a brand-new commodore's hat, which he wore for the balance of the evening.
In keeping with the tradition of the CMA commodore dinner, there was plenty of joking and frivolity, mixed with a couple of serious themes.
The traditional pre-dinner toast, which for years had involved a shot of aquavit with local shipping stalwart Ivar Gramm leading a toast in Norwegian, got a Vogel makeover.
Rum and socks
It seems the new commodore, once based in Copenhagen, developed a distaste for aquavit but as an avid sailor was only too happy to substitute rum.
Then there was the revelation that Vogel has a problem with male staffers showing up for work without socks, which in Fairfield County, Connecticut, can happen far more often than it might elsewhere. He’s been known to send offenders home.
Putting aside the frivolity for a few minutes though, Vogel struck on some weightier topics.
A proud graduate of the US Merchant Marine Academy – as is Zabrocky – he didn't miss a chance to note the recent allegations of sexual misconduct that have roiled the institution.
“This has been a tough period for Kings Point, and the recent crisis around sexual assault is extremely serious,” Vogel said, referring to the academy by its location in New York state.
“Simply put, our institutions and industry, like many others, must do better to protect students, cadets and our mariners. At the risk of stating the obvious, #women belong at sea.”
A new generation
The Eagle boss also highlighted shipping's challenge to continue to be relevant and attractive to a younger generation of potential workers.
“Many if not most people who are in shipping in the US end up here by chance or because their family was in it. And that’s not good enough,” Vogel said.
“I know we will fill future job vacancies when we have them. But the real question is, who will we fill them with? We need to be able to compete with the Teslas and Apples of the world and with Wall Street and engineering firms to attract the best and the brightest.”
Read more
- Gary Vogel’s lieutenants tell how Eagle became a bird of a different feather
- From one-man shop to commodore, Gary Vogel’s roads ran to Connecticut
- How Vogel went private to public and cut his commute by eight hours
- Green Seas: Three takeaways from our roundtable with shipowners on ESG
- Shipowners question doing business with Russia as attacks on Ukraine continue
