Clay on Maritime TV
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Why risk management matters
After the fun of CMA at the beginning of last week, it was back to New York and the Capital Link Partner finance conference on Thursday.
My speech was an elaboration of my favourite topic over the last twelve months- risk management.
When there is an oil spill, the industry has been caught on the back foot by the cost of government intervention.
Those who say that the Deepwater Horizon episode was irrelevant to the tanker industry are incorrect, in that the greatly increased costs to the principal defendants – BP, Halliburton and Transocean – serve as a cautionary tale for tanker vessel operators as well.
The potential commercial impact of regulatory pressure on the shipping industry has become much greater in the past year. Last April 20th’s Deepwater Horizon oil… Continue reading
Thank You USCG
At the start of this month and much to my pleasant surprise, I received a wonderful honour from the United States Coast Guard in the form of the Distinguished Public Service Award. 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
The long and the short and the tall
Here’s what has happened since the Grand Bureaucratic Bailout of last weekend (GBB for short):
As far as the shipping sector goes, the shortage, or rather the lack, of capital (politely called liquidity) is now really striking home. Even prosperous and successful brands are being affected. The effect on the quality of much of the world fleet, over time, will be striking and very harmful.
Europe’s nearly 750 billion euro bailout package is intended to stabilise just about everything. While we hope that it will work for Greece and Portugal over the long run, it won’t help the shipping industry in the short one.
The reasons are simple: lending, on reasonable terms, to respectable medium-sized businesses, must be… Continue reading
Welcome Hans on deck!
It gives me great pleasure in welcoming Dr Hans Payer to our merry band of bloggers. As many people know he is a former member of
the Executive Board of Germanischer Lloyd, and CEO of GL Maritime Services and has also served as Chairman of IACS. He brings a wealth of knowledge on ship design and stability and I for one look forward to reading his insightful comments. Continue reading
Forecasting the Future
It’s my great pleasure to host a webinar for CapitalLink this afternoon on the Future of the Shipping industry. Continue reading
The Greeks had a word for it
Greeks have always known a thing or two about the shipping industry, and operational issues were apparently a concern in classical times, as they are today. Pericles lived in an age that abounded in great thinkers, and as one contemplates (or tries to) the problems of training and retention of seafarers, it is clear that he, and other big names of those days, would have been well aware of the issues fared by seafarers, and those who employ them, today. Continue reading
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