Editorial: ISPS implementation
– a step into the unknown
ISPS is a necessary inconvenience, but the industry will cope and adjust to more stringent security.

Honestly: When vital news
are classified Most government bodies like to think that by keeping information to themselves, there is less risk of the general public knowing what they are really up to and they are less likely to be the target of searching questions.

News review from RORO 2004. The three-day RORO 2004 Conference and Exhibition was held 25–27 May in Göteborg, Sweden. The following is some of the news presented during the event.

An ocean of money to finance ships. With apparently full order books all around the world's shipyards, newbuildings are being launched on an ocean of money flowing from investors and banks anxious to benefit from better returns than are now available in equities.

Oslo – a hive of ship finance activity Ship finance is a fickle business and an expert’s touch is required to negotiate what is inherently less coherent than most international businesses.Over the years Oslo has, for pretty obvious reasons had a vested interest in mastering the craft of ship finance to service what is after all the third biggest merchant fleet in the world.

Marine insurance – too many players. When yards cannot build ships fast enough, bankers and investors can hardly lend money swiftly enough and owners of all vessel types have not seen such good business across the board for a long time, it sees extremely odd that one key historic area of the shipping business is in deep depression, both financial and psychological.

Danish ship finance
seeking for foreign owners Denmark has one of the youngest fleets in the world.

Fortum’s crude oil carrier “Mastera” of 106,000 DWT, built 2002. This double-hulled, Finnish flag vessel has 1 A Super ice class.

Providing ship finance in a turbulent market. Shipping has proved to be slow to pick up on the myriad of financial tools available to a volatile industry. Admittedly a growing number of ship owners have used alternative sources of finance, but the use of bonds and other notes is the exception rather than the rule.

Birgitta Wickenberg Karlsson, Managing Director of Svenska Skeppshypotekskassan.

Other articles: Increased gap between good and bad, Quality portfolio should secure good returns, 2003 a trend-breaking year for Swedish insurers, Bluewater Insurance � small fish in a big pond.

Also in this issue: News review, Comment, Market reports, Fleet news, IT and Communications, Technical News and ”Sveaborg”: State-of-the-art tanker design in 1944.

No 12/2008

Order a copy

No 13-14/2008

Köp numret