Why shipping stays offshore
A small article in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal brings back memories. In the article, John Coustas, CEO of container operator Danaos Corporation, reflects on the things that went wrong. Continue reading
Greek shipping and the financial crisis
What do Greek shipowners make of their country’s current fiscal crisis, and how will it affect their willingness to invest? As we scratch our heads about what might happen to all that Chinese-built tonnage, whether or not we buy the story that lots of it has been or will be “cancelled” for- ever, a study of Greek shipping’s history may be instructive. Continue reading
‘Bear’ necessities hit Ship Finance
Shakespeare, in The Winter’s Tale, includes the stage direction: “Exit, pursued by a bear.” The bear that is pursuing us is a bad market.
Many of us fear the impact on the lending institutions that specialize in ship mortgage finance. The more philosophical say: “The banks always start lending again.” The pessimists say that parts of the ship banking market resemble Monty Python’s dead parrot. You may think that it is just resting, but some departments really are deceased. Worryingly, the combination of specialized knowledge and prudence that makes a good banker is born of experience.
With extensive (if unannounced) layoffs now occurring in the shipping departments of leading British and German banks, many an experienced… Continue reading