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
LIVE FROM POSIDONIA: A class birthday party
On Friday night, to mark its 250th anniversary, Lloyd’s Register of Shipping, whichjustifiably calls itself “the world’s first classification society”, threw a gala evening fiesta at Athens’ Astir Palace hotel, and invited the great and the good of the Greek shipocracy, led by the indispensible Capt. Tsakos, as well as government. officials still willing to appear at such events within the eurozone, to join the shoreside celebration. Continue reading
LIVE FROM POSIDONIA: Will the EU bail-out be repaid?
Greek bankers here at Posidonia are so far shtum, silent and otherwise not talking, at least in my hearing, about repayment of the recent euroloan, or bail-out. Will it ever be repaid? Can it be repaid–ever? Should it even be repaid? Continue reading
LIVE FROM POSIDONIA: Class to benefit from new US laws
At a Posidonia presentation by one of the leading classification societies, it was noted that the uncertain legal and legislative climate in the United States would generate a real need for a legally prescribed and elaborate risk management structure, plus government oversight, for shipping companies as well as offshore oil drillers doing business in the US. Continue reading
LIVE FROM POSIDONIA: US bankers remain bullish
Judging from the comments made to me by ship finance specialists, the markets in Singapore, London and New York have discovered –perhaps belatedly– their inner thirst for quality, and a marked aversion to risk. Continue reading
LIVE FROM POSIDONIA: Lenders treading with care
Last evening, I attended the American Club’s famously elegant party at the Byzantine Estate, in the back country of suburban Attica. My first Posidonia was in 1976, so I have some experience in the matter. Continue reading
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