“Greek shipping has survived many adversities over 60 years or so and produced a good number of benefactors but we are currently seeing signs it may, in a matter of 10 to 15 years, be part of history.”
Industry veteran, George Papadopoulos of Safety Management Overseas, calls for a new open registry to be established on a Greek island while warning that imposing heavy taxes would be a fatal mistake.
(Heavy taxes would be coup de grace for Greek shipping)
“The prices of the bulkers is, from a historical perspective, extremely attractive.”
Christoph Toepfer of Borealis Maritime gives more than a hint that his appetite for bulking up the fleet remains unsatisfied.
“It thus appears that the EC, in working against all logic towards a beaching ban, is being very helpful to the European Parliament at no political cost. The cost is, however, being paid by South Asian economies and especially by its workers.”
Ship scrapping guru, Nikos Mikelis, spells out the cost of letting Greens dominate the debate and the strange politics of the European Commission being the majority benefactor of a shipbreaking lobbying organisation.
(Shiprecycling lobbyists’ hard line in danger of undoing their good work)
“Market competition, and excessive levels of cheaply priced alternative capital, make it difficult to see that other classes of marine business, underwritten on a fixed-premium basis, can deliver the necessary returns in the foreseeable future, without risking the strong capital base that has been painstakingly built up over the past few years.”
West of England Club chairman, Matheos Los, a shipowner with a long term interest in insurance matters, has serious doubts that diversification by the protection and indemnity mutuals will pay.
(Diversification sees clubs divided but unanimity prevails on Nissos Amorgos)
Gard’s Rolf Thore Roppestad and Skuld’s Stale Hansen get together to warn Norway’s finance ministry to think again about new taxes becoming part of legislation to implement Solvency II.
(Marine insurance clubs bid to block Norwegian taxman)
“What of Standard & Poor’s ratings — will they continue to be relevant in a world where specific internal risk model results are to be in the public domain? After over 20 years of trying to get market acceptance, will these added disclosures marginalise the value of the rating?”
Roger Ingles of Elysian Insurance Services highlights the risk that more transparent reporting of solvency will hit a ratings agency.
(Will Solvency II marginalise P&I club ratings?)
“Using fake or homemade copies of Guardcon undermines the tremendous benefits of efficiency, familiarity and reliability that the harmonised terms and conditions of the contract have brought to the industry."
And more than that Bimco appears to be admitting that anti-modification caveats to the Guardcon contract are less than cast iron.
Princess Cruises new celebrity chef, Curtis Stone, appears to have been hired to cater for less than adventurous passengers with a hunger that can’t be satisfied by Alaska's glaciers, Asian antiquities or Africa’s wildlife.
