The shipping industry is experiencing the biggest dry bulk market recession since the 1980s. The uncertain global economic outlook and the increased imbalance between supply and demand have lead to historical low freight rates . The downturn seems to continue until 2017 if a viable equilibrium is not achieved.
According to IHS Maritime, Hanjin Shipping, one of the biggest shipping companies at Sourh Korea, has announced today the issuance of convertible bonds in order to raise 9.2M dollars as working capital.
In ancient Greek mythology, Posidon (also spelled as ‘Poseidon’ and known as Neptune in the Roman mythology) was a major god of the Olympian Pantheon protecting the waters and seas. Posidon, although not as temperamental as his more famous older brother Zeus, was known from time to stir the waters for fun or just to raise hell – so to speak; his weapon was the three-pronged trident which not only caused major storms in the sea but also could shake the earth and cause earthquakes.
The impact of big vessels on global and regional container supply chains dominated discussion on the opening day of the 18th TOC Container Supply Chain Asia Conference and Exhibition, at the Marina Bay Sands Hotel, Singapore.
While Finance and Accounting departments normally do not have much influence on a company’s financial performance directly, they play a huge role in providing accurate data and thereby enabling other departments and the management to make the right decisions. During 2013 GL and Fraunhofer CML experts conducted a study involving about 100 ship managing companies across the globe to find out what they are doing to improve their operations and what they consider as “best practice” in the industry.
The shipping industry has faced its worst crisis during the last 25 years. The limited liquidity of the shipping market and the trend of banks to limit their exposure have made shipowners to find new methods of financing their investment projects. Traditional lenders such as Germany’s Commerzbank and HSH Nordbank and the UK’s Lloyds and RBS are either exiting the market or trying to reduce exposure.
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Officer of the Watch 