The art of War

Shipping is War. Its a friendly war of sorts, but be under no illusion it is WAR.

Its a bit like a world cup soccer match. It may seem friendly before kick off but the best players are prepared to die on the field if they have to.

So whats my point? The point is that negotiations are usually always robust and each side should do whatever they can to get an advantage.

A shipowner will use whatever he has at his disposal to get a high freight rate and favourable terms. The same goes for a charterer. The should do whatever they can to try and secure the best possible outcome (low freight rates and good terms) for their stakeholders.

How then does this manifest in a negotiation? It can get extremely willing. People get angry, People make preposterous claims, executives send letters that seem like legal threats...any advantage that can be gained will be (if the person is doing their job).

And guess what? This is expected. And the funny thing is that after days of quite stressfull rhetoric once a deal is done all parties shake proverbial hands and then get themselves prepared for the next round of negotiations to take place.

So never feel guilty about pushing your case if you feel you are in the right. The "opposition" may get upset for a period but they soon forget when the next deal arrives on their computer screens.

Its all part of the game.

VS