Clay Maitland

On a quest for quality in shipping

A troubled political legacy

One of the oldest sayings in the US Congress is: “There is no such thing as a good regulatory outcome”. Continue reading

Thinking constructively about oil spill prevention

Since April 20, the oil and tanker industries have been confronted with the realization that the rules of risk management, and the framework of maritime liability, are being altered in many ways. Continue reading

What did they know?

It appears that some highly-placed BP executives had some sense of trouble to come, and talked. Continue reading

One disaster at a time

Robert Dudley is an American oil man who became an employee of British Petroleum, oops, BP, when it
absorbed Amoco, the former Standard Oil of Indiana, in 1998. Continue reading

The reality of Risk

BP investors will now lose their dividends for an undetermined period. The reality of risk is now apparent, and for the first time in history, a maritime-related event has had repercussions in the homes of, to use a current expression, “small people”. Continue reading

Reflections of a self-styled legal eagle

Business, in many of its aspects, is occasionally a game of chance. Bad, unexpected things can happen. Failure punishes the unlucky, or unwary, or both. Continue reading

Posidonia Reflections: Change that will knock your socks off

claytoonjpgHaving spent the last few weeks in Greece, cradle of democracy, the shipping industry, philosophy and fiscal irresponsibility, I have reconnected to my favorite ancient Greek philosopher, Herakleitos (Heraclitus to the untrendy). Continue reading

Namepa: Providing a platform for dialogue

One of the hats that I wear is “founding chairman” of the North American Marine Environment Protection Association, founded three years ago. Continue reading

POSIDONIA REFLECTIONS: The true meaning of ‘lingering doubts’

A visit to a Greek shipowner’s yacht is a characteristic feature of Posidonia, Greece’s iconic shipping jamboree, held every two years in what a local banker calls “the cradle of democracy and denial.” Continue reading

LIVE FROM POSIDONIA: When funding runs dry

Posidonia is famously a gathering place for those interested in taking the industry’s pulse. This year, in the face of the nation’s greatest economic crisis since the hungry 1940s, three questions are being asked: 1) will Greek shipowners leave Greece; 2) will Greece eventually default; and 3) will Greece go back to the drachma. The answers so far, based on a highly unscientific poll: 1) most will stay; 2) probably; and 3) no. Continue reading

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