Clay Maitland

On a quest for quality in shipping

My keynote speech from Shipping Insight.

My theme at the Shipping Insight Conference is to define how to profitably operate a ship. The system, and how to select it, are a big part of the decision. Continue reading

Prosperity is not around the corner.

My eye was caught by a recent article: “Tanker Sector May Be Over the Worst”, quoting a Norwegian bank’s analysis that the tanker market, including VLCCs, suezmaxes, aframaxes, panamaxes and medium range clean product tankers, has bottomed out. Continue reading

A failure of leadership

Shipping, it is often said, is a house of many mansions. It is characterized by different qualities, and varies according to the nationality of the ships themselves, and their owners. Continue reading

EMSA – our precious apple cart.

My late uncle Robin, a prudent man, used to warn: “Don’t upset the apple cart.” Continue reading

Oversight, assessment of risk and management: please don’t shoot the regulators

Do you recognize the name Oswald Grübel? Mr. Grübel was until recently CEO of the Swiss Banking Group UBS. Continue reading

A down to earth lunch with looming doom Larry!

I have a friend (let’s call him Larry, though that’s not his real name) who is a well-known lawyer specialising in ship finance in the States. Of a pronounced gloomy worldview, as befits his Polish heritage, he was one of the few skeptics I know who warned of a gathering economic storm, back before the Lehman Brothers collapse. Continue reading