NEW YEAR RESOLUTION FOR THE DECADE 2010:" STOP PREPARING TO DIE AND START PREPARING TO LIVE LIFE" from the film "Shawshank Redemption".

WISHING ALL SEA-FARERS ASHORE AND SAILING, "A VERY HAPPY DIWALI AND A PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR".

The gambling known as business looks with austere disfavour upon the business known as gambling.

~Ambrose Bierce

World trade fall hits Hong Kong shipping By Vaudine England
BBC News, Hong Kong

Ships travel to and from the manufacturing and trading hubs of southern China through the Lamma channel, and it is still busy.

But the ships once sitting heavily in the water, loftily loaded with containers, are now visibly higher in the water.

There is less cargo moving around the world, so less need for ships. Hence, dramatically lower rates for hiring large ships, and so a growing crisis in world shipping.

As the China boom deflates, demand for steel, iron ore and other bulk items from around the world diminishes, leaving bulk carrying ships all dressed up with nowhere to go.

"If you sit in one of the glamorous bars on the south side of Hong Kong, especially in the evening, you will see the lights of lots of ships," says Tim Huxley, chief executive of Wah Kwong Shipping, one of Hong Kong's largest ship-owners.

"Those ships are sitting there, waiting," he says.

" The whole shipping market starts to unravel "
Chris Howse Partner, Richards Butler law firm

"Those are bulk carriers and container ships that haven't got anywhere to go at the moment, there's no cargo for them to carry.

"They're sitting waiting for instructions, waiting for an upturn in trade that will see them moving again, carrying the raw materials that are needed to make the finished goods that are then exported out of southern China to the markets of the West."

Lay-up

Hong Kong has about 70 ships in "hot lay-up" at the moment, meaning they are waiting with full crews. Singapore has several hundred ships in "cold lay-up", where the ships are without crew.

A more long-term parking operation such as this is discouraged in the typhoon-laden Hong Kong waters.

This kind of waiting carries large hidden costs - looking after the crews and preparing to clean the ship's hulls in Hong Kong, and the rising risk of collision in the crowded seas.

Far starker is the fact that ship owners, and often long chains of charterers and sub-charterers, are paying massive day-rates on ships that are earning nothing for them.

"The whole shipping market starts to unravel," says Chris Howse, a leading shipping lawyer and partner of Richards Butler, who is busier than ever at times like these.

"It went from an extreme," he says. "There were examples quoted in the press of this type of ship which was earning $150,000 (£102,000) a day, then the price crashing right down to $5,000 a day. That will not cover the operating costs of the ship."

There have even been cases where an owner was seeking to hire out his ship on a voyage from India to China for the cost of the fuel and the crew.

Charter chains

A ship owner will typically rent out, or charter, a ship for a fixed rate over a number of years and the charterer will often sub-charter that ship on to a sub-charterer for a higher rate and a shorter period.

Such chains can go up to six or seven sub-charterers and, in current times, can break when any one of those in the chain starts experiencing problems.

That is when the shipping lawyers come in.

Given Hong Kong's legal system, it is where most of the China shipping trade is serviced and where such problems as these are handled.

Chris Howse describes how a troubled charterer is currently tackling the lack of trade and trade finance.

"It is a matter of saying to the owners, 'we have an excellent business relationship, we basically need to renegotiate the terms of our charter'," he says.

"'I don't want to give you your ship back. If I give you your ship you won't be able to do much with it, because there are lots of ships sitting idle with no work at all. You may have an enormous claim against me, but I may or may not be able to pay that claim because these claims can be extremely large'."

If new arrangements cannot be reached, companies start to hit the wall, such as Britannia Bulk, Atlas shipping, or several Korean shipping companies.

The troubles that are afflicting Armada Singapore, which has applied for a Scheme of Arrangement with its creditors, have had a significant impact on a large number of shipping and trading companies. It lists more than 64 creditors.

History helps?

The surprising fact in Hong Kong is that, so far, no major ship-owning company is in dire straits.

Tim Huxley and other experts agree that Hong Kong owners, many of whom can trace a long history back to Hong Kong's founding as a major world port, are traditionally conservative and careful.

" In Hong Kong we have an industry that's positioning itself for what could be a longer haul in terms in our sector-specific recession, than what we have in the global slowdown overall "
Tim Huxley, chief executive Wah Kwong Shipping

"I can think of many Hong Kong owners who are not adversely affected by this at all because their gearing, the financing on their ships, is so low, or they're debt-free, so they don't have a problem," says Mr Howse.

"Similarly, a number of Hong Kong's chartering and trading groups are weathering the storm well, because they called the market right - Hong Kong's Noble Group being a good example.

They have been "smarter or luckier depending on how they've played the market".

Order book

But what is exercising the minds of the many shipping experts based in Asia's maritime centre is that even when world trade recovers, shipping will still face trouble.

"In Hong Kong we have an industry that's positioning itself for what could be a longer haul in terms in our sector-specific recession, than what we have in the global slowdown overall," says Mr Huxley.

That is because of the huge number of ships on order, following a massively over-enthusiastic ship-ordering spree in recent years.

This over-investment can be seen, for example, in the sector of cape-size bulk carriers, ships that carry more than 100,000 tonnes, mainly engaged in iron ore trades, carrying iron ore from Brazil or Australia to China.

"In that sector of the shipping market, 105% of the fleet is currently on order, so that means there are more ships being built, than currently exist," Mr Huxley pointed out.

These and many other ships were ordered in the last three years at top prices, so their asset value has now declined. And there is much less money available to finance them.

Shipyards are still building, and the scrap yards of India and Bangladesh are booming as some ships are now being sold for scrap at a faster rate.

But even if world trade picks up, shippers face a huge over-supply of ships, and plunging rates for renting them out.

The love affair between Wall Street and shipping is over, and the industry is hunkering down to face a long and painful recession.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/asia-pacific/7973752.stm

Published: 2009/04/06 01:09:50 GMT

© BBC MMIX

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During my "Marine Engineering Apprenticeship(1978-1982)" at Mazagon Dock Ltd, social and leisure life was different from the 21st century generation. Reading was my passion as also purchasing "Raddi Mags and Textbooks" from "Street Hawkers" a common sight of Mumbai of the pre 2000's.

Somewhere in the 1970's i chanced upon an antique "Reeds Engineers Hand-book Vol-2" at the Flora Fountain street "Raddi Hawker" and purchased the same for its historical significance as it was of the pre-Titanic era.

Its original owner had his name written on the text book with the date 1913 and typical of "Text Books" it either must have changed several hands or must have been sold by the heirs of the owner after his death as "RADDI MATERIAL"'

I, myself , a bachelor,have no heirs surviving me hence would like to sell this "COLLECTOR ITEM EDITION" to the highest bidder during my own life-time. I have also put this message on the www.shipsnostalgia.com website .

INTERESTED PARTY'S CONTACT ME AT THE EARLIEST.

A PHOTOGRAPH OF THE BOOK IS ATTACHED.

A belated "Merry Christmas-2008" and a "Happy New Year-2009" to the "Shipping Fraternity", truely International citizens.
May "Terrorism-2008" be history and "Economic apocalypse-2008" a painfull memory to "Shippies", the toughest of tough amongst working class in any "PROFESSION".

Thanks to "STOLK VALOR" hijacking survivors, the media and Navy have managed to "PROFILE" the "Pirates", a bizarre case of "Soldier Illiterates" hijacking the entire billion dollar "SHIPPING INDUSTRY".
Comparisons of "Somali Pirates" to late Veerapan of the Satyamangalam forests of India, involved in "Elephant and sandalwood " poaching is unmistakable, only difference, the Somali Pirates are a "Faceless group" without any individual leader, hence difficult to obliterate from the Sea.
Ultimately International Naval forces will neutralise the pirates, the question, when and at what cost?
Unlike Veerapan, there might be numerous "Veerapans" in the sea's off Aden and Indian ocean from civil war ridden Somalia ,ever willing to replace fallen "Pirate Comrades".
STOP SOMALIA CIVIL WAR AND PIRACY WOULD VANISH.

I feel embarassed as well as literary happy at being the most prolific blogger on www.seafolks.com. Whats the reason for other "Mariners" avoiding expression of their thoughts to the public?Scared of "Office Politics" or future "Job Procurement"?"Blogging" is educative as well as corrective to any group or institution, the beauty of "Literary Democracy".In case a "Topic" offends someone's interest,best, ignore rather than "BLACK-LIST" or rusticate the "BLOGGER". International Shipping is undergoing its worst crisis since the "TITANIC SINKING 1912" akin to "Economic Apocalypse-2008".Hijacking of the "Sirius Star" a 3,18,000 V.L.C.C brand new ship launched in March 2008 by Huda .M.Ghoson, the first woman to launch a ship in Saudi Arabia sums up the catastrophic year of 2008 akin to 1929, absolutely depressive economically.. Post "Sirius Star" hijacking would be part of "Shipping history books" and akin to "Titanic Sinking" expect a host of "Shipping legislations" on Piracy prevention, once considered as "MOCK DRILLS" on ships. A ship worth 125 million U.S $'s and with 100 million U.S$'s cargo doesn't get hijacked daily, but the very fact that this happened is serious food for thought on the importance of the "SHIPPING INDUSTRY".

Please check the site www.shipnostalgia.com

, the largest shipping site with varied topics written by various members ranging from the "Master" to "Crew" to "Guests".  "VARIETY IS THE SPICE OF LIFE ESPECIALLY IN THE SHIPPING  INDUSTRY WITH INTERNATIONAL CREW AND OWNERS."                                                                                      

"Stolt Valor" has finally been freed from the clutches of pirates with a undisclosed ransom and front page media sensationalism. "Gommorah" by 28 year old Roberto Saviano is  a true account of Mafiaso crime in Naples  and  a best-seller ,setting of death threats against the author. In the shipping Industry its strange that not a single sailor has ever written a true life account of either their experiences or the shady world of piracy, the "Soddom" of shipping. Indian sea-farers are one of the most literate in the trade having mastery over the english language and manning some of the World's largest and costliest ships,latest being "STOLT VALOR". "Soddom" would definitely be a hit if properly researched and written, without fear of "JOB LOSS" or "Social Ostracism". Capt Goel, we are awaiting the "Soddom Diaries" of you and your crews imprisonment by Somali pirates as "Bloggers Inc" and Madam Goel  on "Terra Firma" helped in your release from pirate bondage.

The Hindi film Industry has suddenly discovered "GAYS" as a source of entertainment revenue , a topic considered "BLASPHEMOUS" upto 1990's barring a few "CELIBRITY GAY INDIANS".

Do "GAYS' exist in the Indian Merchant Navy? "A wife at every port" was the common mantra of the lonely existence of the average sailor undergoing long voyages of a month or few weeks  and seeking solace in alien lands with " One night stands".

With the absence of intermingling with women its quite certain that manny sailors could have experimented "Gay sex" on ships,yet the admission of being  "GAY" was akin to a professional  "Death Sentence". Hostels and regimented Institutions having same sex inmates are prone towards "Homosexuality or Lesbianism", a proven fact.

Are "CONFIRMED GAYS" admitted or employed in the Indian Merchant Navy?

Please don't confuse non-gay bachelors with gays as is the common misconception of any "UNMARRIED MALE OR FEMALE" in Orthodox Indian society.

Manny gays get married and call themselves "BISEXUALS" having the best of both World's, a few reform while others remain proudly as "CELIBRITY GAYS".

What about the "FACE IN THE CROWD" Indian Merchant Navy Gay?

Would he ever be allowed to work on board ships withourt raising "Passtime gossip' or worse "Social boycott'?

I must have opened a very relevant 21st century debatable topic.