At 89 years old, Giuseppe D’Amato has seen more ups and downs in the shipping markets than most people.

But “Peppino”, as he is known by his Italian friends, is worried about the way in which the ongoing crisis is threatening the livelihood of the close-knit Neapolitan shipping community.

Naples is suffering; what was one of the greatest shipowning centres in southern Europe a decade ago has shrunk in scale as owners struggle to survive.

Several