When someone shares with you something of value, you have an obligation to share it with others.
Friday, 21 November 2008
Shipping trade heads for economic storm
Heir to one of Greece’s oldest ship owning families, Remi Maritime’s director Leonidas Polemis overlooks the heart of the Greek shipping industry from his plush office and sees a severe economic storm coming.
Heir to one of Greece’s oldest ship owning families, Remi Maritime’s director Leonidas Polemis overlooks the heart of the Greek shipping industry from his plush office and sees a severe economic storm coming.
Global shipping is facing its worst crisis in decades. In just a few months, dry-cargo rates have fallen more than 90 per cent as a five-year boom has turned to bust.
For Greece, which owns 20 per cent of the world’s fleet, that spells trouble.
“Panic is one word to describe what is going on,” Mr Polemis said. “People are selling some ships in a panic mode ... Some companies will go bust.”
Greece has a lot to lose. At 170 million tonnes, its merchant fleet is the largest in the world ahead of Japan.
It is the second-biggest contributor to Greece’s €240 billion (HK$2.34 trillion) economy after tourism, accounting for 7 per cent of output.
Executives say they face a perfect storm of plunging demand and oversupply of ships.
“This is the worst it has ever been,” said George Xiradakis, the head of shipping consultant XRTC.
“Everybody will be affected. This is a globalised market, probably the first globalised market in the world.”
The global economic crash has slashed demand for transport of commodities to fast-growing nations such as China and India.
Dry-cargo vessels that commanded US$150,000 a day in May are now earning US$7,000 or less.
Prices could fall further next year, when a record number of ships are set to flood the market - more than 10,000 new ships are currently on order, according to the United Nations.
Greeks have been seafarers for thousands of years.
Ship owners made fortunes running the British naval blockade in the Napoleonic wars and in the 20th century the riches and rivalry of Aristotle Onassis and Stavros Niarchos was legendary.
For many in Greece, the latest crisis has revived painful memories of the collapse of the early 1980s, when hundreds of huge cargo vessels floated chained together in the Saronic Gulf off Athens, unable to find charterers as the market dried up.
Brokers said some vessels were already being ordered to slow to half speed on the high seas because there were no cargoes when they arrived.
1 comment:
Shipping trade heads for economic storm
Reuters in Piraeus
20 November 2008
Heir to one of Greece’s oldest ship owning families, Remi Maritime’s director Leonidas Polemis overlooks the heart of the Greek shipping industry from his plush office and sees a severe economic storm coming.
Global shipping is facing its worst crisis in decades. In just a few months, dry-cargo rates have fallen more than 90 per cent as a five-year boom has turned to bust.
For Greece, which owns 20 per cent of the world’s fleet, that spells trouble.
“Panic is one word to describe what is going on,” Mr Polemis said. “People are selling some ships in a panic mode ... Some companies will go bust.”
Greece has a lot to lose. At 170 million tonnes, its merchant fleet is the largest in the world ahead of Japan.
It is the second-biggest contributor to Greece’s €240 billion (HK$2.34 trillion) economy after tourism, accounting for 7 per cent of output.
Executives say they face a perfect storm of plunging demand and oversupply of ships.
“This is the worst it has ever been,” said George Xiradakis, the head of shipping consultant XRTC.
“Everybody will be affected. This is a globalised market, probably the first globalised market in the world.”
The global economic crash has slashed demand for transport of commodities to fast-growing nations such as China and India.
Dry-cargo vessels that commanded US$150,000 a day in May are now earning US$7,000 or less.
Prices could fall further next year, when a record number of ships are set to flood the market - more than 10,000 new ships are currently on order, according to the United Nations.
Greeks have been seafarers for thousands of years.
Ship owners made fortunes running the British naval blockade in the Napoleonic wars and in the 20th century the riches and rivalry of Aristotle Onassis and Stavros Niarchos was legendary.
For many in Greece, the latest crisis has revived painful memories of the collapse of the early 1980s, when hundreds of huge cargo vessels floated chained together in the Saronic Gulf off Athens, unable to find charterers as the market dried up.
Brokers said some vessels were already being ordered to slow to half speed on the high seas because there were no cargoes when they arrived.
Post a Comment