In a whirlwind 48 hours in early November Italian shipowner Paolo d’Amico stepped into the chief executive’s role at Milan-listed shipowner d’Amico International Shipping (DIS) and took the chairmanship of Intertanko.
Third-generation owner d’Amico succeeded long-serving Marco Fiori at DIS and Nikolas Tsakos at the tanker owners' association.
I am the son of a shipowner, so shipping has always been my reference of life
“I will engage myself as much as I can in both situations and one thing is not going to be overshadowed by the other,” d’Amico told TradeWinds in his first interview since the announcements.
“I would say most of the Intertanko chairmen, if not close to all of them, were CEOs of their company, so I’m not doing anything new,” he added.
Industry standing
d’Amico was vice-chairman to Tsakos during the Greek executive’s four-year tenure, during which Intertanko’s standing in the industry was restabilised.
As a former president of the Italian Shipowners' Association (Confitarma) between 2010 and 2012, he is no stranger to leading industry bodies.
“It is an industry I grew up in and I am the son of a shipowner, so shipping has always been my reference of life,” d’Amico said.
“I always think when you are in something, and you love it, you also have to fight for it.
“For me, certain things are natural, not all things, but certain things are. And tankers for me also represent a long period of my career and I’m honoured and very happy to do it.
“As I always say in my speeches, you can judge me on the basis of what I deliver. The reason why I get involved with these things is when I like something, I like to do it as much as I can.”
Looking back at his time as Intertanko chairman, Tsakos said during his tenure the association had continued in its mission to be a respected voice in the legislative environment, while keeping commercial considerations to the fore and promoting the industry.
d’Amico says he and Tsakos shared many opinions. “I don’t see any sort of change on the way of thinking at Intertanko due to the chairman,” he said. “I would say Nikolas has always been very aligned to the association and so will I.”
d’Amico joked that it is better he does not know what Intertanko members are expecting from him. However, he said the organisation has a fantastic secretariat and a strong team of people, which leave him protected.
“I’m not jumping on something I don’t know or something that is not managed,” he explained.
IMO 2020
He cites the introduction of IMO 2020 rules as the biggest challenge facing Intertanko and the wider shipping community.
“Probably for us it is going to change more in terms of having to serve this new bunker industry that is going to be created by this convention,” he said.
“Because this 0.5% [fuel] has to be manufactured somewhere and has to be distributed somewhere else. This is a tanker job.
“The industry for us will be changed, not just in cost of time charters but on trade flows and our geographical pattern all together can change.”
The use of scrubbers to meet IMO 2020 rules is an increasingly polarising issue and tanker owners are at the heart of the debate.
"We as Intanko have members who have installed scrubbers and members who have refused to do so," d'Amico said. "I respect both aspects."
He added: "There is such a confusing situation that is very difficult to say what is going to happen. The only thing that we have keep in mind, and every one of my colleagues does, is that if you put a scrubber on you have to repay it as fast as you can because the risk that it becomes an obsolete object is quite strong."
DIS announced earlier this month that Fiori was stepping back after 22 years with the company. d’Amico said his stepping in as chief executive was the most logical thing to do.
“It’s a matter of getting organised,” he said, adding that he is looking at the role for the long term.
“Of course, also due to date of birth, at a certain point I have to retire,” he said. “I am still young but not as young as I would like. I have to be substituted, like everybody else at a certain point.”
Stable strategy
As with Intertanko, d’Amico says there will not be a shift in strategy at DIS now that he is installed as chief executive.
“I was executive chairman of DIS, so the strategy we did up until yesterday was also my strategy,” he said. "For the moment we are keeping that way."
“Of course, it is nothing new to anybody. The market is what it is. Over the last year, it has been probably one of the worst markets in history. The strategy will be the same. The market will adjust. I am optimistic and positive on it. The fundamentals are there. The matter is when.”
