Law and Order

On the last Friday of April, the Maritime Law Association of Singapore presented its 2^nd Asian Maritime Law Conference entitled “Arrest, Insolvency and Pre-emptive Remedies in a Global Shipping Crisis”. The mood was somewhat sombre with many in the audience believing that the shipping crisis is still far from over. The mix of presenters included speakers from both the East and the West and brought great value and interest. Some of the more interesting takeaways for us, in no specific order, including the following:

-       IMF estimates that bank losses from US toxic assets could reach USD 4 trillion. If we compare this figure to the global syndicated loan amount of USD 3 trillion in 2008, this is equivalent to one lost year of financial activities.   Continue Reading

CMA’s Irish Feis

CMA’s 2008 Shipping Conference got off to a brilliant start on St. Patrick’s Day. It was not only bigger, 2,000 attendees by latest count, but if possible was one of the best ever in terms of content. Understanding that everyone is Irish on St. Patrick’s Day, the organ­izers brought Ireland to the conference much to the chagrin of the local pubs, Tiernan’s and Tigin. Bob Kunkel of Seacoast Electronics was serving Guinness and Harps at the Seacoast booth and then brought in the pipes and drums from the Rockland County Emerald Society for entertainment.

It is grossly unfair to gloss over the program, which is dedicated to every part of shipping, but it would also be impossible to describe it all. So instead we will exhibit our prejudice and focus on the market sessions.

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