Sales were a little slow to start with but happy to say that many of you have now bought the VS voyage estimation software and tutorial.
Sales have really picked up in the last few weeks. Getting a good cross section of buyers too - from shipping companies, individual brokers and chartering officers, all the way through to trainees and students.
Some of you may have noticed that the pack is discounted for the time being. Will be putting it back to its RRP soon.
Thanks to everyone for the support of this project.
Cheers
VS'
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Market remains firm
Yep market remains firm.
You have probably noticed I am taking a short break from my consistent postings on this blog. In the the 18 months the blog as been in existence I think I have done fairly well averainge more than 10 posts per month.
I am extremely busy at the moment and in truth I just feel like taking a breather from my regular contributions. Fear not! I aint going anyway. Its a short 'non posting' sebatical to recharge the batteries. I will fire up again soon. I check the blog and emails everyday so please keep the communication coming if indeed you have something to ask me.
Cheers
VS
You have probably noticed I am taking a short break from my consistent postings on this blog. In the the 18 months the blog as been in existence I think I have done fairly well averainge more than 10 posts per month.
I am extremely busy at the moment and in truth I just feel like taking a breather from my regular contributions. Fear not! I aint going anyway. Its a short 'non posting' sebatical to recharge the batteries. I will fire up again soon. I check the blog and emails everyday so please keep the communication coming if indeed you have something to ask me.
Cheers
VS
Thursday, August 12, 2010
The market has fought back nicely
click here to check the BDI which back around the 2,500 mark.
Nice comeback!
I have recently landed a new account and thats been keeping me busy. Lots of travel over the last 2 weeks. Sorry to those waiting for a reply from me.
Reverting Soonest
VS
Nice comeback!
I have recently landed a new account and thats been keeping me busy. Lots of travel over the last 2 weeks. Sorry to those waiting for a reply from me.
Reverting Soonest
VS
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Most read posts for 2010
In the last 17 months I have made many posts and it occurs to me that newcomers may have trouble finding important info. So here are the links to some of the more read posts...(other than the ones already listed in the right hand column)
2010 most read posts
1. Bulk Shipping is about playing the averages
2. Voyage Estimation - additional info
3. Kick in the pants to the shipping industry
4. Demurrage vs Freight rates - the relationship part 1.
5. Demurrage vs Freight rates - part 2.
6. How I landed my first job
7. Shipowner secrets
8. Yes my spelling is terrible
9. China vs Australia - The iron ore wars
10. Shipbroker and chartering salary updates
11. A nice message
12. Is there a secret?
13. How are charterparties formed?
14. Travel and shipbroking
Cheers
VS
2010 most read posts
1. Bulk Shipping is about playing the averages
2. Voyage Estimation - additional info
3. Kick in the pants to the shipping industry
4. Demurrage vs Freight rates - the relationship part 1.
5. Demurrage vs Freight rates - part 2.
6. How I landed my first job
7. Shipowner secrets
8. Yes my spelling is terrible
9. China vs Australia - The iron ore wars
10. Shipbroker and chartering salary updates
11. A nice message
12. Is there a secret?
13. How are charterparties formed?
14. Travel and shipbroking
Cheers
VS
Thursday, July 29, 2010
The shipping markets are roaring back!
Well sort of...more of a whimper in a high C rarther than a roar.
Its not a bad recovery in all honesty with the BDI touching the 2,000 point range.
Check out my voyage estimator blog to see the graph (and when you are there why not purchase the VS voyage estimation pack - its awesome..trust me im a broker)
Its not a bad recovery in all honesty with the BDI touching the 2,000 point range.
Check out my voyage estimator blog to see the graph (and when you are there why not purchase the VS voyage estimation pack - its awesome..trust me im a broker)
Monday, July 26, 2010
Self trimming bulk carrier
I should extrapolate a little further on my last posting. You see the term 'self trimming bulk carrier' is one of those terms that makes lawyers very rich but in reality does very little for the profession.
Infact there is no such vessel, recognised by class or any other official means, as a self trimming bulk carrier. This term has crept into the chartering venacular and really should only be used in association with the cargo it will carry. Any other cargo other than 'freeflowing grain cargoes' renders just about all dry bulk carriers 'non' self trimming. ie most bulk cargoes require extra trimming.
Anyway - here is my suggestion. All parties should just avoid using the term. What you are worried about at the end of the day is the 'time and cost' of extra trimming - so stick with thatt and agree a suitable clause.
Example - all time, cost, risk of extra trimming to be for owners (or charterers) account.
Cheers
VS
Infact there is no such vessel, recognised by class or any other official means, as a self trimming bulk carrier. This term has crept into the chartering venacular and really should only be used in association with the cargo it will carry. Any other cargo other than 'freeflowing grain cargoes' renders just about all dry bulk carriers 'non' self trimming. ie most bulk cargoes require extra trimming.
Anyway - here is my suggestion. All parties should just avoid using the term. What you are worried about at the end of the day is the 'time and cost' of extra trimming - so stick with thatt and agree a suitable clause.
Example - all time, cost, risk of extra trimming to be for owners (or charterers) account.
Cheers
VS
Friday, July 23, 2010
When a ship is not the ship you thought she was!
You would think that a ship is a ship is a ship...but no a ship is not always the ship that you think that she may be. For a ship ‘should be’ what it is – but it isn’t – well not always anyway. It should be what you can see, what you can feel and what the ship owner tell you it is.
But here is the scoop. In a negotiation a ship is sometimes not the ship you thought she was. Yes it’s true. A ship is a harlot and a shameless chameleon capable of miraculous and sometime sinister change. Change by the slight of a pen and the whim of its controller.
Come closer.....a little more. Let me explain..
One day I chartered a big ship and she was an important big ship because she was going to carry one of my companies’ most important cargoes - wheat. Now as you know wheat becomes flour and flour makes bread – and bread feeds the world. So it was an important cargo. Anyway this big imprtant ship was described on the shipowners own website as a single deck ‘self trimming’ bulk carrier and yet on fixing the ship the shipowner refused to have the words ‘self trimming’ appear in the contract. The shipowner said ‘don’t worry your little head about it. Look at her she is a ship and a ship is a ship is a ship and she will load your wheat and all will be fine”.
So the ship arrived and loaded the cargo but alas there was a problem. The ship could not be loaded to full capacity because the ship which was a ship was in fact a ship designed in a funny way. This was a disaster...... because as you know the world was waiting for the wheat and wheat feeds the world.
So in order to load the ship in full we had an argument about who should pay the extra cost and time for ‘trimming’ to allow the ship to load in full. “It’s your cost and time” yelled the shipowner because my ship is just an ordinary ship and if you want extra things to happen you must pay. Then I said “what kind of harlot cannot load wheat up to the top of each hold.........your website says that she is self trimming which means that she should be able to”.......and so it goes...
I had to pay because the words 'self trimming' although on a website were not infact in the contract agreed.
The moral here is this. A ships description is every bit as negotiable as the cargo or the time charter order in question. If you don’t like the description of a ship then you have every right to “try and change it” in a negotiation. Off course this doesn’t mean that the shipowner will accept the changes but some things are well worth trying to change or at least qualify the meaning.
Particularly evil misrepresentations revolve around things like
- The vessels speed and fuel consumption. These can often over stated so as to make the ship appear a better performer than what she is...and hence make you pay more for her.
- The use of the terms ‘about’ and Wog’ in describing elements of the ship
- The hiding of previously accepted terms such as ‘self trimming’ to avoid possible delays and costs with loading and discharging
- Trading histories, recent damage, grounding etc It’s ok to include general clauses to protect the charterers interest during the entire voyage. Eg, “owners agree and warrant that the vessel is suitable in all respects to load the said cargo and to perform the intended voyage”
Buyer beware - and another reason to have your wits about you in a negotiation..
Dont get me wrong I love ships even if these ships are not the ships I originally thought they were. I even like ships that have had 'work done' and ladies that are over 25 years of age. I dont discriminate. I cant afford too...my company has needs. But like any relationship you can never judge a book (or a ship) by its cover...
Find out as much as you can before you get in over your head...
Cheers
VS
But here is the scoop. In a negotiation a ship is sometimes not the ship you thought she was. Yes it’s true. A ship is a harlot and a shameless chameleon capable of miraculous and sometime sinister change. Change by the slight of a pen and the whim of its controller.
Come closer.....a little more. Let me explain..
One day I chartered a big ship and she was an important big ship because she was going to carry one of my companies’ most important cargoes - wheat. Now as you know wheat becomes flour and flour makes bread – and bread feeds the world. So it was an important cargo. Anyway this big imprtant ship was described on the shipowners own website as a single deck ‘self trimming’ bulk carrier and yet on fixing the ship the shipowner refused to have the words ‘self trimming’ appear in the contract. The shipowner said ‘don’t worry your little head about it. Look at her she is a ship and a ship is a ship is a ship and she will load your wheat and all will be fine”.
So the ship arrived and loaded the cargo but alas there was a problem. The ship could not be loaded to full capacity because the ship which was a ship was in fact a ship designed in a funny way. This was a disaster...... because as you know the world was waiting for the wheat and wheat feeds the world.
So in order to load the ship in full we had an argument about who should pay the extra cost and time for ‘trimming’ to allow the ship to load in full. “It’s your cost and time” yelled the shipowner because my ship is just an ordinary ship and if you want extra things to happen you must pay. Then I said “what kind of harlot cannot load wheat up to the top of each hold.........your website says that she is self trimming which means that she should be able to”.......and so it goes...
I had to pay because the words 'self trimming' although on a website were not infact in the contract agreed.
The moral here is this. A ships description is every bit as negotiable as the cargo or the time charter order in question. If you don’t like the description of a ship then you have every right to “try and change it” in a negotiation. Off course this doesn’t mean that the shipowner will accept the changes but some things are well worth trying to change or at least qualify the meaning.
Particularly evil misrepresentations revolve around things like
- The vessels speed and fuel consumption. These can often over stated so as to make the ship appear a better performer than what she is...and hence make you pay more for her.
- The use of the terms ‘about’ and Wog’ in describing elements of the ship
- The hiding of previously accepted terms such as ‘self trimming’ to avoid possible delays and costs with loading and discharging
- Trading histories, recent damage, grounding etc It’s ok to include general clauses to protect the charterers interest during the entire voyage. Eg, “owners agree and warrant that the vessel is suitable in all respects to load the said cargo and to perform the intended voyage”
Buyer beware - and another reason to have your wits about you in a negotiation..
Dont get me wrong I love ships even if these ships are not the ships I originally thought they were. I even like ships that have had 'work done' and ladies that are over 25 years of age. I dont discriminate. I cant afford too...my company has needs. But like any relationship you can never judge a book (or a ship) by its cover...
Find out as much as you can before you get in over your head...
Cheers
VS
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Prediciting a market turnaround!
From Tradewinds
Quote
BDI blues ‘temporary’
Michael Bodouroglou has dismissed a recent plunge in the dry-cargo market as a “temporary dip”.
Paragon Shipping boss Bodouroglou says the losing streak which saw spot rates crash by over 60% has not been matched in the period or FFA markets which have fallen by only 15% and 3% respectively.
Michael Bodouroglou.
Speaking on a Dry Bulk Webinar organised by Capital Link, he said: “What this says is the current spot rates are only a temporary dip.
“I think this sentiment is enhanced by the fact the DBI has recently rebounded.”
Bodouroglou says a reduction in newbuilding slippage rates and delays played a part in the crash, which saw the Baltic Dry Index fall for a record 35 consecutive sessions.
However, he argues the main cause was the “over-inflated” price of iron ore, which led the Chinese to switch to domestic sources.
“Already miners are thinking of returning to sell at spot prices. When spot prices are below the current contract prices the Chinese will start importing and, inevitably, the market rates will go higher,” Bodouroglou said.
Akis Tsirigakis, CEO of Star Bulk, says earlier this year China responded to higher iron ore prices by increasing its stock piles from around 40 days to 72 days. This supply is now being eaten away and he expects demand will soon return.
“There is a poker game being played between the Chinese steel mills and the miners, BHP, Rio Tinto and Vale,” he said. “The Chinese do need the iron ore, so at some point those stock piles will be sufficiently low that imports will have to resume.
“I would expect another month to a month and a half or possibly two of relatively low activity followed by a strong fourth quarter, if I may read my crystal ball properly, and possibly even a spike [in the BDI] if we see a flurry of activity to replenish those iron ore stock piles.”
Akis Tsirigakis.
Tsirigakis says reduced port congestion has also dented rates of late. But he expects queues at key ore terminals in Brazil, China and Australia to start growing again in the fourth quarter.
“While the primary factor in the June and July capesize market fall is the pronounced slowdown in Chinese iron ore imports, the impact of port decongestion releasing more ships into the market has been an additional negative effect on the freight market,” he said.
“I believe this is going to reverse relatively soon and I expect congestion to increase in the third quarter as Chinese iron ore imports pick up to rebuild stock piles.”
Bodouroglou, however, did concede the newbuilding orderbook is a worry.
Given the high percentage of capesize newbuildings in the pipeline he says it is “inevitable” supramaxes and panamaxes will continue to outperform their larger rivals on the spot market.
By Andy Pierce in London
unqte
Quote
BDI blues ‘temporary’
Michael Bodouroglou has dismissed a recent plunge in the dry-cargo market as a “temporary dip”.
Paragon Shipping boss Bodouroglou says the losing streak which saw spot rates crash by over 60% has not been matched in the period or FFA markets which have fallen by only 15% and 3% respectively.
Michael Bodouroglou.
Speaking on a Dry Bulk Webinar organised by Capital Link, he said: “What this says is the current spot rates are only a temporary dip.
“I think this sentiment is enhanced by the fact the DBI has recently rebounded.”
Bodouroglou says a reduction in newbuilding slippage rates and delays played a part in the crash, which saw the Baltic Dry Index fall for a record 35 consecutive sessions.
However, he argues the main cause was the “over-inflated” price of iron ore, which led the Chinese to switch to domestic sources.
“Already miners are thinking of returning to sell at spot prices. When spot prices are below the current contract prices the Chinese will start importing and, inevitably, the market rates will go higher,” Bodouroglou said.
Akis Tsirigakis, CEO of Star Bulk, says earlier this year China responded to higher iron ore prices by increasing its stock piles from around 40 days to 72 days. This supply is now being eaten away and he expects demand will soon return.
“There is a poker game being played between the Chinese steel mills and the miners, BHP, Rio Tinto and Vale,” he said. “The Chinese do need the iron ore, so at some point those stock piles will be sufficiently low that imports will have to resume.
“I would expect another month to a month and a half or possibly two of relatively low activity followed by a strong fourth quarter, if I may read my crystal ball properly, and possibly even a spike [in the BDI] if we see a flurry of activity to replenish those iron ore stock piles.”
Akis Tsirigakis.
Tsirigakis says reduced port congestion has also dented rates of late. But he expects queues at key ore terminals in Brazil, China and Australia to start growing again in the fourth quarter.
“While the primary factor in the June and July capesize market fall is the pronounced slowdown in Chinese iron ore imports, the impact of port decongestion releasing more ships into the market has been an additional negative effect on the freight market,” he said.
“I believe this is going to reverse relatively soon and I expect congestion to increase in the third quarter as Chinese iron ore imports pick up to rebuild stock piles.”
Bodouroglou, however, did concede the newbuilding orderbook is a worry.
Given the high percentage of capesize newbuildings in the pipeline he says it is “inevitable” supramaxes and panamaxes will continue to outperform their larger rivals on the spot market.
By Andy Pierce in London
unqte
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