Sinoship Autumn Issue 2015

The world’s largest shipowner revealed

t m ily s a .co Da ate 247 d sh up .spla w ww

Autonomous ships in the PRC

New ship arrest laws explained Autumn 2015

www.splash247.com

How to improve the Hong Kong flag Port consolidation

China's dropping coal demand

Of belts, roads and the new normal

Minsheng boss on China’s shipping future

■ ■ ■ CONTENTS

■ ■ ■ Regulars 3 Editor’s Comment 5 Economy 7 Lines 9 Yards

In the unlikely event of the entire rig fleet working, there would be still be a surplus of offshore support vessels —Mike Meade, founder, M3 Marine

10

10 Offshore 11 Finance

The best time for the shipping industry is coming

13 Commodities 14 Logistics

■ ■ ■ Profiles 15 Lu Xiaozhong

15

—Lu Xiaozhong, president of Minsheng Industrial

17 Sun Yaming 18 Liang Dong

■ ■ ■ Features

Fleet optimisation, business diversification and cost control are the only choices for us

20 Legal

— Sun Yaming, president of Taihang Shipping

19 John Su

22 Ports

17

■ ■ ■ Hubs 25 Shanghai

The low oil price has increased the demand for oil storage in China

26 Taipei 27 Hong Kong

■ ■ ■ Reviews 28 Books

■ ■ ■ Opinions

18

— Liang Dong, president of Haifa Shipping

29 Andrew Craig-Bennett

The dry bulk shipping market is experiencing the lowest level for the past 30 years — John Su, founder, Erasmus Shipinvest

2

www.splash247.com

19

UP FRONT ■ ■ ■

www.sinoshipnews.com

An ASM publication EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Sam Chambers sam@asiashippingmedia.com CHIEF CORRESPONDENT Katherine Si katherine@asiashippingmedia.com CORRESPONDENT Jason Jiang jason@asiashippingmedia.com BEIJING Li Deng Bai SHANGHAI Colin Shek HONG KONG Alfred Romann DALIAN Mark Downing GUANGZHOU Wang Fanglei TAIPEI David Green CONTRIBUTORS Bei Hong, Charles De Trenck, Matthew Flynn, Paul French, Max Hong, Li Dong, Manish Singh, Andrew Craig-Bennett PHOTOGRAPHERS André Eichman, Basil Pao All editorial material should be sent to sam@asiashippingmedia.com or mailed to Office 701, 9 Renmin Lu, Zhongshan District, Dalian, China 116001 COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR Grant Rowles grant@asiashippingmedia.com SALES DIRECTOR Helen Ong helen@asiashippingmedia.com SinoShip advertising agents are also based in Japan, Korea and Scandinavia — to contact a local agent email grant@asiashippingmedia.com for details.

Media kits are available TO download at:

www.asiashippingmedia.com All commercial material should be sent to grant@asiashippingmedia.com or mailed to Asia Shipping Media Pte Ltd 30 Cecil Street, #19-08 Prudential Tower Singapore 049712 DESIGN Tigersoft Pte Ltd PRINTERS Allion Printing, Hong Kong SUBSCRIPTIONS

Any shipping-related company headquartered in the People’s Republic of China can receive SinoShip magazine for free. For all other companies a US$100 subscription is charged for 2014’s four issues of SinoShip. Email sales@asiashippingmedia.com for subscription enquiries.

Copyright © Asia Shipping Media Pte Ltd (ASM), 2014 www.asiashippingmedia.com Although every effort has been made to ensure that the information contained in this review is correct, the publishers accept no liability for any inaccuracies or omissions that may occur. All rights reserved. No part of the publication may be reproduced, stored in retrieval systems or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written permission of the copyright owner. For reprints of specific articles contact grant@asiashippingmedia.com.

Twitter: @sinoship Linked In: SinoShip China Shipping Network

Shipping’s intransigence gives regulators the whip hand Copenhagen is a very, very green place.

So much so that a couple of weeks back as an electric ferry, commandeered by Danish Maritime, silently glided through the city’s waterways, the guide onboard pointed out swimming baths along the river where even the Crown Princess goes for a dip — though probably while I was there as it was a tad inclement.

Denmark gets green better than most countries I have visited. Its problem is that it is way too far ahead of most other nations in pursuing an environmental agenda – and, yes, this very much includes China.

The same could be said for many of the lofty ideals that came out of the recent Danish Maritime Days and its centrepiece, the Danish Maritime Forum.

Attendees were repeatedly told of shipping’s great green credentials on the one hand, while being warned of the threat faced

by COP21 (the upcoming Paris UN climate change summit), and the unlevel playing field created by those early adopters of green practices and the laggards behind.

Summing up at the forum, delegates were told to be “evangelists” and to form a “coalition of the willing” to get more of shipping united and onside — or risk the wrath of environmental regulators.

Here’s the rub. The talk is all very well.

Those handpicked to attend are already at the apex of green shipping, but persuading the vast majority of their competitors to be as proactive will, I am afraid to write, prove impossible. The fact is shipping will always be brought down by its inability to move as one, and to be ahead of the regulators.

I enjoyed the week, and indeed the sentiment, yet sadly, like a relay team, shipping

can only progress if the baton gets handed and accepted by each player. As we all know there are simply too many substandard, corner-cutting, penny pinchers out there.

The very unfair, unlevel playing field is set to continue.

Sam Chambers Editor sam@asiashippingmedia.com

Sinoship AUTUMN 2015

3

Economy ■ ■ ■

Don’t be swayed by the stock market rollercoaster Devaluation will boost exports … eventually

It’s a lot easier to be a bear than a bull these past months in China, thanks almost entirely to the rollercoaster antics of the Shanghai Stock Exchange. But there are calmer heads around who’ve seen the Shanghai bourse act erratically before and those in China for the long haul, while having to wait a while, largely expect a return to normality eventually. The stock crash may have been well deserved (the ChiNext index was trading at over 140 times), but the fact seems to be that it is having very little effect on the broader economy.

For those operating in China it is important to note that the stock market is not the entire economy. Given the legion of small, mom-and-pop investors in the market it may not be even remotely representative of what is happening across the country in factories, production centres

and export processing zones.

Better perhaps to look at the underlying fundamentals of the economy.

First, China’s GDP growth rate is slowing, and most analysts expect it to continue to decelerate gradually for many years with general predictions of cooled growth to down to 5% or 6% by 2020. But that is

still very fast growth, given the PRC’s very big base.

Secondly it’s important to remember that China’s job market remains largely stable.

This means workers are earning wages, which is borne out in real (inflation-adjusted) retail sales rising 10.6% year-on-year in June, the fastest pace in four months. Online retail sales are

China’s exports month-on month - First half, 2015 Month Exports ($100m) Jan 2002.58 Feb 1691.91 March 1445.69 April 1763.31 May 1900.58 June 1920.11 July 1950.97 Source: China General Administration of Customs

particularly robust, rising 39% year-on-year during the first half of this year.

Third, let’s not forget amid the stories of small investors getting wiped out, that Chinese household debt remains very low and savings rates are stubbornly high still. Household bank deposits are the RMB equivalent of $8.5trn, which is greater than the combined GDPs of Russia, Brazil, India and Italy.

Of course RMB devaluation a fall out from the stock market dip - is good for exporters.

Chinese businesses have been complaining for a while now of the double whammy of rising labour costs and an expensive currency. Exports had dipped, but now being cheaper, should rise again as orders are placed (and most are priced internationally in dollars). It is true that the Beijing government’s devaluation of the RMB is a ‘limited devaluation’ and there will be a time lag between devaluation and a boost to export orders – but it should come.

The other side of that coin, of course, is that imports will become more expensive. Many industrial analysts believe that China should be investing in upgrading its production facilities at present to remain competitive in an increasingly hi-tech world and with competition at the low end from lower wage countries in Southeast Asia. That retooling may be a problem if import prices are high. As ever it’s a balance and Beijing must seek the right balance between a cheap and an expensive currency over the second half of the year.

Sinoship AUTUMN 2015

5

LINES ■ ■ ■

Sinotrans&CSC established a joint venture, China VLCC, in 2014.

Cosco and China Shipping are keeping their shares suspended, the pair have said, until what they describe as a complex matter which may involve asset restructuring is complete. The groups’ listed units stopped trading on August 10, claiming they were “planning major issues”, a move widely seen as a merger of China’s top two lines.

Combined, Cosco and China Shipping would have a fleet worth more than $10bn more valuable than any other line in the world, according to data from VesselsValue.com.

China Merchants Energy Shipping (CMES) and Sinotrans&CSC’s listed subsidiary Sinotrans Air Transportation Development both made announcements in September denying reports of a merger between China Merchants Group and Sinotrans & CSC. CMES and

Nan Tsing Container Lines, one of China’s largest domestic container shipping companies, went bankrupt. Many of its ships have been detained. Nan Tsing started as a state-run shipping company and was on of verge of bankruptcy in 2008.

It survived after it was acquired

by Zhejiang Tingyu Group, a multi-sector group based in Wenzhou and Pan Peicong, president of Tingyu Group, was installed as president of the company.

Taiwan’s Courage Marine saw a big change of shareholders this October whereby Suen

Cho Hung’s Success United Development became the top shareholder and well known shipping veteran Hsu ChihChien (pictured as a former SinoShip cover star) stepped down as chairman of the dry bulk shipping line. Hsu cofounded Courage Marine in 2001.

Cosco in September announced that it has signed agreements with four domestic yards for the construction of a total of eleven 19,000 teu containerships. Dalian Cosco KHI Ship Engineering (DACKS) and Nantong Cosco KHI Ship Engineering (NACKS) will build six of the vessels, CSSC-affiliated Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding will build three, and the remaining two will be built by CSIC-affilated Dalian Shipbuilding Industry. Total price for the vessels is around $1.51bn.

Japanese trading house Marubeni sold the 47,407 dwt MR product tanker Nord Optimiser, built at Onomichi Dockyard, for a price just in excess of $21m this September.

The buyer turned out to be Dalian’s Rui Hai, marking a re-entry into shipowning after

selling its two vessels. Rui Hai is a subsidiary of one of Dalian’s largest and most diverse conglomerates, Haichang Group.

Fujian Guohang Ocean Shipping, a company that mainly operates in the dry bulk sector, is establishing an oil shipping arm in Tianjin. The company will invest RMB30m ($4.7m) in the new tanker setup, which will be registered in Tianjin’s Dongjiang Bonded Area.

At the end of September Shanghai Maritime Court sold a 28,789 dwt bulker owned by Wenzhou-based Fu Lai Deng Shipping via auction in order to resolve a salary dispute between the company and its crew. About 30 crew members working for Fu Lai Deng Shipping filed a lawsuit against the company at the court in February this year, demanding the company pay salary owed to them for almost a year.

www.splash247.com

Splash - for incisive, exclusive maritime news and views 24/7.

Now includes free Splash Jobs recruitment page!

Sinoship AUTUMN 2015

7

YOUR RecRUitment PARtneR. Faststream group was established in 1999 and employs over 130 specialists dedicated to sourcing the very best talent for your organisation, through a network of global offices in Singapore, United Kingdom, Ft Lauderdale and Houston.

We are the world’s premier Maritime and Marine recruitment firm, placing individuals on a permanent, project, interim and temp-to-hire basis. We also provide specialist industry research and benchmarking, contractor management and compliant payrolling solutions for contract employees both onshore and offshore.

glObAl lOcAtiOns

sUccess

1,500

PLACEMENTS MADE IN

12 mOnths

380,000 UNIQUE CANDIDATES

RegisteRed WORk With Us

We sPeciAlise in: > EXECUTIVE SEARCH > TECHNICAL SHIPPING > COMMERCIAL SHIPPING > MARINE > LOGISTICS > NEW BUILD SITE TEAMS > CORPORATE SERVICES – ACCOUNTANCY, HR, OFFICE SUPPORT, IT & PROCUREMENT

Access tO the lARgest chOice Of cAndidAtes thROUgh OUR sPeciAlist netWORks, dAtAbAse, sOciAl mediA fOllOWing Of OveR 250k And tRAde AssOciAtiOns.

OUR RecRUitment seRvices: > PERMANENT > CONTRACT > PROJECT > INTERIM > RESEARCH & BENCHMARKING > PAYROLLING SOLUTIONS > ONSHORE & OFFSHORE

find OUt mORe

All Of OUR lAtest ROles ARe On OUR Website: WWW.fAststReAm.cOm seARch Online tOdAY On YOUR desktOP, tAblet OR mObile.

Find us:

www.faststream.com

Call us:

+65 6532 7201

Email us:

info-sg@faststream.com

YARDS ■ ■ ■

Giant leap for unmanned kinds?

Katherine Si charts China’s efforts to build autonomous ships

The debate surrounding autonomous ships is hot right now, brought up at seemingly every conference, and something that divides the industry.

The concept is nothing new – unmanned vessels were mooted as far back as World War Two. China has its own plans for this technological leap. It has already delivered an unmanned marine survey to be used for weather forecasting, but now it is actively plotting designs and concepts for unmanned cargo ships.

One of the two biggest Chinese shipbuilding groups, CSSC, is seeking cooperation with domestic shipbuilding industry players - including CSSC Systems Engineering Research Institute, SDARI, Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding, Hudong Heavy Machinery and Huangpu

Wenchong Shipbuilding - to develop its first generation ‘intelligent ship’.

The first project is to work on a 200,000 dwt ocean-going ship.

This vessel will be equipped with over 300 sensors to consecutively monitor the ship’s operation and the condition of the ocean.

“The thinking ability of this intelligent ship will share 50% of the work of the crew,” says Zhang Hongjun, director of CSSC Systems Engineering Research Institute.

Those behind this development are adamant that intelligent ships will lead to greater safety at sea. The human

element is responsible for most accidents at sea, with CSSC claiming its intelligent ship can cut accidents by 70% and make voyages 10% more efficient.

The intelligent ship project will import dynamic information of weather, oil prices, freight rates and more to a data center onshore, which could then enable the ship to choose its most reasonable routes and speed.

CSSC officials are also quick to downplay costs of an unmanned ship – something that has turned many owners away from the idea in the first place. CSSC’s Zhang says there is not much newly added

Unmanned vessels were mooted as far back as World War Two

hardware on its debut intelligent ship, the key is building data via software and sensors.

The design of this groundbreaking ship is already underway with SDARI taking the lead.

“It might take a couple of years. It is a great challenge but will also be a great news for the industry,” an official from SDARI tells SinoShip.

“We are at the very initial stage of the unmanned cargo ship design and build. When we have completed the design, our own shipyards will be able to build it,” he adds.

China looks like it is in a race with the UK’s Rolls-Royce to build the first autonomous ship.

The UK engine manufacturer has brought a number of high profile names onto its autonomous vessel project and has a couple of years’ head start on CSSC. Sinoship AUTUMN 2015

9

■ ■ ■ OFFSHORE

Downward spiral Mike Meade from brokers M3 Marine provides a sobering snapshot of the depressed rates environment The offshore marine space continues to be operating in high stress mode with even the most noble and well-run companies struggling to generate profits, or even positive cash flows.

Outside of the marine space the global oil and gas industry faces poor earnings visibility as capex and operating costs are being slashed. The market continues to be challenging for the entire industry; including oil companies, vessel owners, service providers and shipyards.

Utilisation dropped on average 40% across the sectors with some areas affected more than others (North Sea/US Gulf of Mexico). Charter rates are down, again at levels around 40%. This has put extreme pressure on vessel prices with the oversupply of vessels (existing fleet plus newbuildings galore) worsening the situation.

The market is out of balance when it comes to supply and demand; where even in the 10

www.splash247.com

unlikely event of the entire rig fleet working, there would be still be a surplus of offshore support vessels.

After many years of relatively healthy vessel values in the second hand/resale space, these values have now fallen steeply since the downturn began, by as much as 20-30% and considerably more for older vessels.

This past quarter, oil prices have tumbled to below $50 per month on the back of market events from China and Greece, Iran’s nuclear agreement, the continual threat of shale oil and the continued asset oversupply situation.

vessel market in the Middle East. However, increasing export volumes would have a dampening effect on oil prices. The increased oil production from Iran will not be immediate as sanctions will not be lifted until the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reports Iran’s compliance with cuts to its nuclear-related commitments.

We will also have to see an extensive amount of development/maintenance to make the extra production effective.

Experts estimate implementation of the deal to take four to 12 months from a start at the end of Q3 this year, realistically

Even in the unlikely event of the entire rig fleet working, there would be still be a surplus of OSVs The lifting of international sanctions on Iran should reinvigorate the offshore support

making the earliest lifting of sanctions to Q1 2016.

By June my take on the Brent

oil price estimate for balance of 2015 and 2016 was $60+ pert barrel and $70 respectively.

Since the recent re-correction, I don’t have the same level of confidence. A recent survey conducted by Carnegie Energy found that half of investors believed the oil price in one year would be between $60 and $70, with the rest divided equally on slightly higher and lower levels.

Industry players are preparing to tide over this storm by implementing drastic measures, such as severe cost cutting and layoffs, to prepare their organisations for a different and more challenging business climate, with a shift in the way the industry is priced when we come through the downturn.

Cost cutting measures unfortunately have resulted in huge job losses as several oil majors and contractors — including Shell, Chevron, Technip and Saipem — have started laying off their people in the thousands.

For survival, it is crucial that new and niche market opportunities are recognised in this challenging period, in order for contractors to remain sustainable. In most of the offshore sectors, the focus has moved from deepwater to shallow water projects, focusing on short term production.

Deepwater projects are nevertheless still ongoing, where selected deepwater fields continue to be developed. Deepwater has a solid future, and in the long term is far more economic and sustainable than shale. The subsea projects remaining in favour are subsea tiebacks to existing production hubs, due to the lower capex needed.

Another market to be on the lookout for is the offshore accommodation market, as the demand for accommodation units will likely average almost 42,000 personnel onboard per year over the 2015 to 2020 period, despite declining capex across the offshore industry.

FINANCE ■ ■ ■

The world’s largest shipowner revealed Sam Chambers is surprised to hear the answer to the above. No, it isn’t Cosco

Who’s the world’s largest shipowner? That was the question posed to 100 people

by Professor Stavros Tsolakis at the International Shipowning & Shipmanagement Summit, part of London International Shipping Week held this September across the British

Tanker panel split on what ship type to buy A panel of tanker experts were divided on what ship type to invest in at Septembers’s Marine Money Singapore Ship Finance Forum. Concluding the tanker session, the panel was asked what they would invest in if they were given

capital. A chorus of big names – Cosco, MOL, Maersk, NYK, Oaktree – were all dismissed by the maritime economics specialist from Singapore Management University.

The answer? The Korea Development Bank and China’s ICBC Leasing. This was the $100m.

Hugo De Stoop, CFO at Euronav, said VLCCs, claiming there were just eight or nine ships worldwide which can build this ship type.

Cyril Ducau, deputy CFO at Quantum Pacific Shipping, was more circumspect, telling delegates: “I don’t see a segment that cries out for investment.”

Frans van de Bospoort, who

start of an hour’s session centering on private equity at the London conference. Tsokalis also pointed out that among the world’s largest shipbuilders is the Korea Eximbank.

Tsolakis said today’s financial situation for shipowners was similar to the 1980s. “If you are a Greek owner you compete with states,” he said, explaining that many countries are pumping huge sums of money into loss making entities. “Nations are competing with shipowners. Shipowners are competing with state-backed companies,” he said, suggesting that owners had to streamline operations to compete or even survive.

On private equity, Tsokalis said that after chasing the biggest names in shipowning for the past few years, private equity was now happy to do deals with smaller owners.

When shipping markets stabilise and liquidity returns to the banks, then private equity’s dalliance with shipping will diminish, Tsokalis predicted. heads the tanker division at DVB Bank, said he’d plump for small handy product tankers, citing that sector’s smaller orderbook. This choice was supported by Huw Crooks, a partner and CFO at Ridgebury Tankers. Crooks said he was happy that other panellists were generally cautious on crude tankers. He also picked slightly older, smaller

Clive Richardson, president and ceo of V.Group, the world’s only private equity backed shipmanager, made the case for private equity, even suggesting that had private equity been around more pre-2008 it might have reined in some of the excesses seen in the shipping market in the first decade of the 21st century.

“I think private equity has had a beneficial impact on shipping since 2008,” Richardson said, explaining that it had put a greater focus on returns and risk management.

He noted that private equity has pumped $25bn into shipping since 2008, and had made a “much healthier” split between equity and debt in in the industry.

Richardson said private equity could not be blamed for overcapacity in shipping, citing Marine Money figures that show private equity accounted for just 10% of deals done last year.

“Private equity is not the biblical swarm some say,” he said.

As the only shipmanager to be backed by private equity, V.Group has remained ahead of its rivals, Richardson said, suggesting it had more “financial firepower” than any of its rivals, and that its leading position had forced others to consolidate, a reference to the recent merger of Anglo-Eastern and Univan, two large Hong Kong managers. containerships as a decent investment.

Erik Statsveth, an analyst at Arctic Securities, gave short and longer term predictions. In the next three months he said he’d invest every penny he had in Euronav shares, expecting the Belgian tanker giant to continue to post robust earnings this year. Longer term he felt LNG made the best investment.

Sinoship AUTUMN 2015

11

Commodities ■ ■ ■

Grain imperatives Mark Downing on China’s quest for food security

Roughly a tenth of seaborne dry bulk goods is composed of grain destined as food, feed or industrial inputs. With a fifth of the world’s population and less than a tenth of its arable land, China is increasingly being forced to tap this global agricultural supply chain despite decades of rhetoric around food self-sufficiency Motivated to provide food security since the Great Leap Forward, Beijing has long sought food self-sufficiency and resisted market forces to import grains and other land-intensive crops.

Officials have been relaxing the definition of self-reliance for years as they acknowledge the growing need for food imports.

Policies are being readjusted to accommodate imports to supplement to China’s domestic food supplies, but the markets are still bound with support measures and trade barriers to prevent imports from dominating.

Policymakers still believe that China must produce most, if not all, of its staple foods at

home rather than rely on unpredictable world markets. But this leads to inefficient foodproduction practices such as subsidising farmers to produce food that would be cheaper to import and incentives to grow grain on unsuitable land that requires significant chemical boosts.

China’s grain production is at or near record levels as government policy has bolstered production. China achieved remarkable increases in domestic grain production, rising 40% during 2003-13 and reached a 2010 set target of 550m tonnes.

Despite the potential for further increased productivity, output is ultimately capped by fixed arable land and limited uncontaminated water resources.

Beijing’s 2020 grain production target has been set at an achievable 550m tonnes, well below the estimated domestic demand of 720m tonnes and the 2014 harvest of 607m tonnes.

Production of the key food and livestock feed grains of corn, wheat and rice is at 95% of domestic consumption. But the loosening of the definition of ‘grain self-sufficiency’ towards ‘edible grain self-sufficiency’ by policymakers has propelled imports of feed grains such as soybeans to 85% of demand last year.

By 2011, China lost its ability to harvest for itself what it needs to eat and became the world’s largest importer of agricultural products and a net importer of grain. China swung

Policymakers still believe that China must produce most, if not all, of its staple foods at home rather than rely on unpredictable world markets

from being net exporter to net importer of corn and began importing large volumes of distillers’ dried grains. Imported soybeans are increasingly feeding China’s burgeoning livestock herds as average diets incorporate ever more meat.

China's imports of corn and corn substitutes, including barley, sorghum and distillers' grain hit a record high this July as feed mills took advantage of cheap overseas prices to replace expensive domestic grain in part owing to Beijing’s stockpile system.

Projections by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) anticipate continued growth in Chinese agricultural imports through 2023, with soybeans the dominant import commodity and imports of corn also expected to rise.

China has long been selfsufficient as a matter of policy, providing a measure of government legitimacy. It was largely absent from grain imports at the beginning of the decade, but has since transformed into the world’s largest food importer.

Sinoship AUTUMN 2015

13

■ ■ ■ LOGISTICS

Not bombproof In the wake of the Tianjin explosions, Jason Jiang looks at China’s hazardous cargo sector

On August 12, Tianjin Port International Logistics Center suffered massive explosions, which killed at least 145 people and caused severe damages to the surrounding area. The explosions, which were visible from space, originated from a chemical storage facility operated by Ruihai International Logistics, a logistics provider for hazardous cargo.

The blasts have exposed the poor supervision of the highly lucrative trade in hazardous chemicals. Chinese prosecutors accused 11 senior officials from the municipal transportation commission, the port operator, work safety agencies, the local planning administration and the Tianjin customs office of negligence over the deadly blasts.

Several other chemical plant blasts and fires occurred shortly after the Tianjin explosion, including two in nearby Shandong province on August 22 and August 31 that killed 14 14

www.splash247.com

people. Both Shandong blasts took place in newly developed local chemical parks.

Following the explosions, safety concerns have been raised for the hazardous cargo storage sector. In response to these concerns, China’s State Council has pledged to launch a nationwide inspection of businesses engaged in dangerous chemicals and explosives and ordered local governments at all levels to strictly enforce regulations in the safety zones around industrial projects handling hazardous materials, and to firmly implement regulatory measures for highly toxic chemicals.

Miao Yu, minister of industry and information technology, said at the end of August that nearly 1,000 chemical plants across the nation are planning to improve safety, possibly involving RMB400bn ($62.8bn) of relocation costs.

Shanghai Gangcheng

Hazardous Substances Logistics Company, a subsidiary of Shanghai International Port Group (SIPG), has moved its main storage yards from Pudong to the less populated Luchao port area in September.

Supply chain technology company, Elementum, said the potential relocations of chemical plants in China could push prices up for chemicals and make them more scarce.

According to a report from another supply chain technology firm, Resilinc, the Tianjin explosion could create logistical delays and other supply chain problems for months to come, even as operations at the port itself return to normal.

According to an official from China Chemistry Industrial Association, some chemical product prices have gone up following the Tianjin explosions, and the situation is expected to last for several months.

According to Chai Baoshen,

secretary general of the China Association of Warehouses and Storage (CAWS), China has become the second largest country in the world for manufacturing hazardous products, however, the market is not well regulated.

Chai says hazardous cargo storage is a highly profitable business, and the current hazardous cargo warehouses are not enough to meet market demand, which has lured lots of logistics firms which have little experience in handling hazardous cargo into the sector.

“There isn’t state-level professional certificates for the workers in the hazardous storage sector, each region makes their own standards but it varies a lot,” Chai says.

“For now, the pressing matter for the authorities is to establish standards in all the segments of the industry, including production, distribution and storage,” Chai warns.

PROFILE ■ ■ ■

One Belt, One Road and China’s new normal Minsheng stands to reap the benefits of Beijing’s latest doctrines

Y

es, shipping must get used to China’s “new normal” of slower economic growth, but for those agile enough Beijing’s One Belt, One Road policy could offer a new “golden age” for the industry. That’s the view of Lu Xiaozhong, president of Minsheng Industrial (Group) and chairman of Minsheng Shipping.

Minsheng was established in Chongqing in 1925. It was reestablished in 1984, still with the Yangtze as its main focus. Today, it is one of the largest integrated logistics groups in China.

Minsheng Shipping is a joint venture founded by Minsheng Industrial (Group) and Shanghai International Port (Group) in 2009.

The line has around forty 300 teu boxships covering the Yangtze plus 18 roros with a total capacity of 12,300 ceu. On top of that there are six oceangoing container vessels as the line spreads its wings, not just along China’s coast but to other Asian destinations.

“Under the guidance of One Belt One Road released by Beijing, the company plans to expand with more large-sized Yangtze river container ships and also the ocean container vessels,” says Lu. “As the global economy has not fully recovered, the domestic economy still faces great pressure, which means it will not be a good time to greatly expand the fleet. However, to invest in some vessels with strong market demands and economic benefits is okay,” Lu continues.

“The best time for the shipping industry is coming,” Lu maintains.

Stretching from Hungary to Indonesia, Beijing estimates its much-hyped One Belt,

One Road initiative will add $2.5trn to China's trade in the next decade, more than the value of its exports in 2013.

With international expansion in mind, Lu appointed Igal Dafni, a former executive at ZIM and ceo of Gold Star Lines and CNC Lines, as executive director of Minsheng Lines in March this year.

As well as One Belt One Road, Lu points out initiatives to grow the Yangtze river economic belt plus the cooperative development between Beijing and Tianjin as reasons for cheer for local shipowners.

Lu also applauds Beijing’s ship scrapping subsidy, something that should help equilibrium return to the local shipping industry in the not too distant future.

“The shipping industry is welcoming a new golden age now,” Lu insists.

In the same breath, however, Lu contradicts himself, admitting that the industry

The best time for the shipping industry is coming

must get used to China’s so called “new normal” economy, which means overcapacity and less demand for shipping. The days of double digit GDP growth in the People’s Republic are a thing of the past.

As well as new routes to Northeast, Southeast and South Asia this year, up next for Minsheng – very much in keeping with its adherence to One Belt, One Road policies – are services to the Middle East.

NEED TO KNOW NEED TO KNOW

Minsheng established in 1925, set up its shipping arm with Shanghai International Port (Group) in 2009. As well as domestic network it is expanding fast across Asia.

Sinoship AUTUMN 2015

15

PROFILE ■ ■ ■

Dark times Shipping coal around China is a business in decline. One shipowner is having to get creative to survive.

Jason Jiang reports

A

mid the economic slowdown and pressure to improve the nation’s air, the doldrums in the domestic coal trading market is still very evident. Taihang Shipping, the fleet controlled by Shanghai-listed Shanxi Coal International Energy Group, is making efforts to get its business back on track.

Taihang Shipping was established in 2009 in Qinhuangdao, one of the largest coal trading ports in the world. The company operates both domestic and international shipping services with a fleet of ten bulkers and a total capacity of 500,000 dwt. It has another two ships under construction.

According to Sun Yaming, president of Taihang Shipping and Shanxi Coal International Energy Group, the overcapacity problem and the government’s restrictions on dirty coal have intensified the gloomy outlook in the coal market， while the price drop in oil and gas has also reduced the country’s reliance on coal.

China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) has made a plan in September to cut coal’s percentage in the country’s energy consumption from the current 66% to 60% while meeting the new power demand through non-coal power generation by 2020.

China’s coal industry has been suffering from depression since 2013. According to statistics from the China National Coal Association, more than 70% of the country’s coal companies suffered losses in the first half of 2015 and the total profit of the companies has dropped nearly 90% compared to the same period in 2012.

Sun reckons the coal price has almost hit the bottom and there is not much room for the coal price to drop further. However, he thinks the dry bulk shipping market will take another two to three years to recover.

Taihang Shipping needs to be prepared for the next round of “golden times” of the market, Sun tells SinoShip.

“I think now fleet optimisation, business diversification and cost control are the only choices for us, otherwise we will be phased

Fleet optimisation, business diversification and cost control are the only choices for us out of the market,” Sun says, adding that the company is currently looking to buy two to four secondhand bulkers in order to improve the profitability and sustainability of the firm.

The company has been making efforts to optimise its cost structure through slowsteaming and it has made progress in minimising losses in the past two years.

Taihang Shipping completed a coal shipping volume of 5.83m tons in the first half of 2015, up 25% year-on-year, despite a reduction in total production volume of the parent group. It has also narrowed losses

by RMB7.3m ($1.15m) compared with the same period of 2014.

Taihang Shipping recently signed an RMB600m ($94.1m) sale and leaseback deal with China National Foreign Trade Financial Leasing Company for four bulkers in its fleet. Sun says the deal greatly improves the financial flexibility of the company.

Sun reveals that parent Shanxi Coal International is working on a strategy to transform from a traditional coal producer to an integrated service provider in the industry, and Taihang Shipping is a key component to this strategy

NEED TO KNOW NEED TO KNOW

Taihang Shipping Established in 2009 as a wholly owned subsidiary of Shanghailisted Shanxi Coal International Energy Group. The company’s fleet currently stands at 10 bulkers with a total capacity of 500,000 dwt.

Sinoship AUTUMN 2015

17

■ ■ ■ Profile

Tanker glad tidings The boss of Shenzhen Haifa Shipping is enjoying the current crude bull run

S

henzhen Haifa Shipping, a domestic tanker operator, is ramping up its efforts in fleet expansion this year despite the overall depression in the shipping market. The company mainly operates oil and chemical shipping in domestic coastal and Yangtze River market. It also offers services to Hong Kong and Macau from major ports in Guangdong, Guangxi, Fujian and Hainan.

Liang Dong, president of Haifa Shipping, established the company in 1996. The company only operated with chartered vessels to begin with, nut now it owns 16 tankers with a total capacity of around 75,000 dwt. It also listed on the National Equities Exchange and Quotations (NEEQ) in 2014.

According to Liang, currently the

domestic oil and chemical shipping is relatively stable compared with other shipping sectors including dry bulk shipping and container shipping, however, the company is still facing the risk of decreased demand from the downstream industry.

Liang says the company has spent more efforts in market expansion and improving services this year. “Our main efforts now is to strengthen our ties with major oil and chemical companies,” Liang says. Haifa Shipping’s major clients at the moment are subsidiaries of the major energy groups including PetroChina, CNOOC and CNPC. The company has also set up a technical management office in Huizhou Port in southern China recently to better serve the petrochemical projects in the region.

The low oil price has also increased the demand for oil storage in China 18

www.splash247.com

Liang says the company’s fleet has added two 7,000 dwt oil tankers in the first half of this year while a number of vessels which were at repair and maintenance last year are back in operation.

“The fleet has been greatly boosted this year,” Liang says, adding that the company has recently bought two more tankers which will be put into operation before the end of this year, by then the fleet capacity will be increased by 75% comparing with the same period of last year.

The company has been actively looking for financing from alterative sources rather than bank borrowings. Haifa Shipping issued a debt-financing plan in May to raise RMB80m ($12.5m) for fleet expansion and it is currently planning to issue 15m new shares to institutional investors in order to raise about RMB108m ($17m). Liang says the raised funds will improve the company’s debt structure.

“Currently the fuel price is at a relatively low level, which helps us control costs,” Liang said.

Liang says reckons the oil tanker market will see some increase in the fourth quarter.

“The low oil price has also increased the demand for oil storage in China despite the overall economic slowdown,” he says.

As a result Liang is anticipating significantly higher revenues and profits this year.

NEED TO KNOW NEED TO KNOW

Shenzhen Haifa Shipping Established in 1996 and mainly operates oil and chemical shipping in the domestic coastal and Yangtze River markets. Currently the company owns 16 tankers with total capacity of around 75,000 dwt.

PROFILE ■ ■ ■

Doubling down during the depression Despite admitting dreadful conditions for dry bulk Erasmus Shipinvest’s John Su has big fleet expansion plans

J

ohn Su, the founder and CEO of dry bulk player Erasmus Shipinvest, admits that the immediate outlook for the sector he is in is very grim.

“The dry bulk shipping market is experiencing the lowest level for the past 30 years and unfortunately there’s still a massive orderbook and weak demand outlook due to the financial crisis worldwide,” Su says, adding: “It is hard to see a dramatic change of market tonnage balance in the short term.”

Su has been preparing for this harsh reality for a number of years. He now believes demand-wise the market has hit rock bottom. ‘‘We are seeing the collapse of the bubbles from the super cycle in the shipping industry.

When we saw the spark in bulk shipping in 2010, people thought the crisis in shipping was over but they were wrong. A lot of the shipyards made orders on their own account.

We will see major bankruptcies in private yards,’’ Su reckons.

Following graduation from Dalian Maritime University, Su has nearly 20 years experience in shipowning, operating and investment fields in dry bulk and container shipping in Asia and Europe.

As if rates were not bad enough for dry bulk owners, the regulatory avalanche hitting

ultramaxes.

“We intend to double the fleet size in the coming three years during the low cycle of the dry bulk market,” Su says.

Most of Erasmus’s vessels are fixed for long-term (5-7 years) time-charter employment.

Despite the gloomy market conditions, Su still has achieved three consecutive years of profit and is on track to make it four out of four soon.

Next up, Su has ambitions to tap the public capital markets to raise funds for fleet growth.

“We have already identified a series of promising prospects and we look forward to implementing them at the right time,” the serial shipping entrepreneur concludes.

NEED TO KNOW

shipping will make profits even scarcer.

“Today, owners are facing more and more challenging regulations which certainly increases the running costs of the ships in such a tough market, and it’s also not easy to maintain reliable and experienced crew sources.”

However, Su still has great plans to increase his fleet capacity.

The company currently runs 10 bulkers – a mix of panamaxes, kamsarmaxes and

We are seeing the collapse of the bubbles from the super cycle in the shipping industry e-ce www.maritim 2015 ISSUE TWO

NEED TO KNOW

Erasmus Shipinvest Established in the Netherlands in 2010, with offices also in Greece and China.

Manages a fleet of 10 bulkers with plans to double the fleet size in the next three years.

o.com

Nor-Shipping Special

Norwegian owner offshore, financ s, travel plus our e and annual Rich List

The title for leading shipping insights 250 interviews with the top names in shipping every year… guaranteed

nt man n’s new freood Fredrikse cl a obert M ine R tl val of Fron and the revi

Maritime

18/5/15

14:28

y.indd 1

CEO 2015Ma

Sinoship AUTUMN 2015

19

■ ■ ■ Legal

Arbitration aims Jason Jiang on China’s complex arbitration rules

T

oday arbitration has become the dominant method to resolve international commercial disputes instead of being merely an alternative mechanism, especially in the maritime sector.

The international commercial arbitration system based by the United Nations Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (New York Convention) has evolved into a highly efficient and effective legal framework that greatly facilitates resolution of cross-border disputes.

China, an emerging maritime superpower, is trying to get more active in the field of arbitration.

Currently London, Hong Kong and New York are still the preferred places for maritime arbitration. Comparing with thousands of cases handled by London Maritime Arbitrators Association (LMAA) each year, China Maritime Arbitration Commission (CMAC) handles merely around 100 cases annually.

In order to fulfill its ambition to develop Shanghai into an international shipping center, China has determined to improve the maritime arbitration sector.

The Shanghai government said in August that it would support Hong Kong

20

www.splash247.com

International Arbitration Center (HKIAC) to set up a representative office in the Shanghai FTZ. Qingdao and Hong Kong also signed a memorandum of understanding in September to jointly develop a platform for maritime arbitration and other maritime legal services.

“With more Chinese companies adopting the international arbitration system when conducting their business, it would be much more convenient if HKIAC sets up in Shanghai, and it will also create more competition with Chinese arbitration institutions, which will learn and develop gradually,” says Shen Sibao, director of the law school at Shanghai University.

China arbitration law requires that parties appoint an arbitration institution in their arbitration agreement while London, Hong Kong and New York all adopt ad hoc arbitration, which is more flexible, more efficient, and usually more cost-effective.

This does not mean Chinese courts will not enforce an ad hoc arbitration agreement. In practice, parties are free to place the seat of their arbitration outside China where ad hoc arbitration is accepted or to choose a law other than the Chinese arbitration law to govern the validity of their arbitration agreement when arbitrating

inside China.

However, not all arbitration agreements enforced in China are subject to Chinese law. The Supreme People’s Court of China has adopted a choice-of-law rule that allows ad hoc arbitration agreements to be enforced in China in many instances.

To achieve this result, however, the parties must draft their agreement carefully, particularly the provisions concerning the arbitration seat or the law applicable to their arbitration agreement.

“The Chinese supreme court has always been willing to enforce arbitration agreements calling for ad hoc arbitration outside China. The choice-of-law rule later adopted by the court has further increased the range of ad hoc arbitration agreements that the court is willing to enforce, as long as the parties agree on a non- Chinese law to govern the validity of the arbitration agreement or specify the seat of arbitration outside China, a Chinese court will enforce the arbitration agreement,” says Hu Chengzhi, director at the Maritime Law Research Center of Shanghai International Studies University.

China is a contracting country to the New York Convention, under which ad hoc arbitration is supported and thus Chinese courts are obliged to enforce ad hoc awards made outside China. But if the arbitration seat is in China, meaning the New York Convention does not apply, the prospect of having an ad hoc arbitration award enforced by Chinese courts is unlikely.

“One of the issues that the Chinese courts appears to have neglected is that when concluding a contract, parties seldom specify the law governing the validity of the arbitration agreement; according to the Chinese court’s rule, in order for courts to rely on the law specified by the parties, the parties must explicitly state that their chosen law governs the arbitration agreement’s validity rather than the substance of the contract,” Hu says.

“China should not maintain the distinction between ad hoc and institutional arbitration as a legal standard to determine the validity of an arbitration agreement,” says Lu Pengqi, deputy director at the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade.

“The full recognition of ad hoc arbitration is essential to China’s legal system if the country continues moving towards a market economy, remains active in the globalisation process, and becomes more involved in the world’s international maritime arbitration system,” Lu concludes.

Legal ■ ■ ■

‘Shipowners must take proactive steps to protect themselves’ Clyde & Co’s Leslie Shen provides a valuable update on new Chinese ship arrest regulations

C

hina’s recent move to clarify and harmonise its ship arrest regulations is a significant step forward for all players in the marine

industry.

Ironically, shipowners may have to navigate more carefully through clearer waters than they did in murkier waters to protect their assets.

In a set of rules that kicked in on 1 March, China’s Supreme People’s Court has provided more clarity and aligned Chinese law on ship arrests more closely to international conventions. While it enhances protection for all players against errant debtors, it conversely also means shipowners may run a higher risk of having their ships arrested and auctioned.

The new regulations elucidate for the first time that vessels arrested based on claims against bareboat charterers can be auctioned or sold at the behest of creditors. Additionally, auction procedures were also simplified, speeding up the process of potential asset loss for shipowners. Now, second auctions – in cases where the first auction fails – will be announced within seven days, instead of the original 30 days.

Further, although shipowners could technically still file a claim in the event of a wrongful arrest within two years from the ship arrest or auction proceedings, there is now an impetus to exercise their rights quickly. This is because the counter-security provided by the applicant will be returned if they do not file the wrongful arrest claim within 30 days upon receiving the applicant’s notice.

This represents increased risk for shipowners, particularly lease-finance players, as they may stand to lose their assets even if the maritime claims are not against them.

Shipowners can now face multiple arrests simultaneously, rather than successively. Even if a ship is already under arrest, a second warrant of arrest by a different

party can also be served on the ship as security for their claims. In addition, the second arresting party is entitled to apply to auction the vessel without waiting for the previous arrest to be lifted if first applicant did not do so.

The silver lining for shipowners is that the maritime courts are also imposing stricter requirements on ship arrest applications, including standardising counter security from claimants. This will help protect shipowners from wrongful arrests, especially since the quantum of the counter security from the claimant is to be equal to the losses incurred within the arrest period.

Once left up to the discretion of different Chinese maritime courts, mandating counter security is a welcome step to standardise procedures. However, in practice, there is still lack of guidance in terms of the method of calculation, which means the approach will likely still vary from court to court.

Another interesting development in favour of shipowners is that claims in relation to vessels now take precedence over other maritime claims. Directly arising from this is the issue of whether shipowners, based on claims against bareboat

charterers, arrest their own ships, put it up for auction and subsequently buy it back, and then claim distribution of the auction proceeds paid by themselves. We understand some maritime courts have already encountered this situation in practice.

With the increasing risks coupled and lack of policy clarity in some areas, the way forward is clear: Shipowners must take proactive steps to protect themselves.

They need to ensure there are sufficient guarantees in place in order not to be drawn into arrest proceedings, or that if they are, that the bareboat charterers have the capacity to discharge the vessel promptly.

Having a clear understanding of the laws also allow shipowners to take measures to protect their assets and minimise losses in disputes. Adhering to the newly adjusted timelines for the different processes will also be essential.

Just several months into the enforcement of the new laws, it is still premature to see how the new regulations will play out for all the stakeholders involved. More clarity is needed but it is a step in the right direction.

Sinoship AUTUMN 2015

21

■ ■ ■ FEATURE

Beijing pushes for consolidation to combat slumping figures The ports sector is following a host of other industries in China by being coerced to join forces, writes Katherine Si

W

hatever the sector shipping is going through a consolidation phase. Nowhere is this more acutely felt or on such a large scale as in the People’s Republic where the number of shipyards is contracting as huge mergers take place and shipping lines, even mighty Cosco and China Shipping, are thrown together. It’s not just shipping either. In China, major industrial concerns are being forced to betrothal as part of Beijing’s bid to cut overcapacity and

increase industrial efficiency. This is true too for the ports sector.

The incredible buildup of infrastructure at ports up and down the Chinese coastline for the last 20 years needs refining now that the country has entered what has become in common parlance the new normal.

Economic growth is not what it was – and China’s shipping needs are changing rapidly – ports in China need to be aware of this change and accept single digit growth at best for years to come.

The country has entered a new economic phase, what has become in common parlance the new normal 22

www.splash247.com

The State Council moved this summer to kick start the consolidation phase of the nation’s sprawling ports sector. Port resources will be optimised at major port clusters, such as Bohai Bay, Yangzte river, Beibu Gulf, Fujian, the Pearl river delta, the Liaodong peninsula, North Jiangsu and Hainan Island.

The Liaoning peninsula will include port assets of Dandong, Dalian, Yingkou, Panjin and Huludao. The regional port assets optimisation will be led by Dalian port as it pushed its Northeast Asia international shipping hub credentials.

The Bohai Bay area will include the port assets of Qinhuangdao, Tanshan, Cangzhou and Tianjin.

The Shandong peninsula will cover

Ports ■ ■ ■

several port cities in Shandong province, including Binzhou, Dongying, Weifang, Yantai, Weihai, Rizhao and Qingdao.

The northern Jiangsu province sector will include Lianyungang and Yancheng.

The Yangzte river area will include Nantong, Shanghai, Jiaxing, Hangzhou, Shaoxing, Ningbo, Zhoushan and Taizhou in Zhejiang province, with Shanghai very much pulling the strings here.

Professor Liu Bin, director of the World Economic Research Institute of Dalian Maritime University, comments on all these changes. “The Chinese ports are likely to be integrated into bigger port groups and have some regional features, such as a Yangtze river port group, and a Bohai Bay port group,” he says.

What is happening in China with regards port integration has been mirrored the world over from more developed economies “The growth pace of the domestic economy is slowing down. Port throughput will also decrease slowly. In the coming five years, most of the Chinese ports will see negative growth of the cargo throughput, that should be a good reason to push the reform and integration on the port assets,” Liu tells SinoShip.

What is happening in China with regards port integration has been mirrored the world over from more developed economies.

Japan wrestled with the same issues last decade – forming super ports to counter declining throughput, while in Europe there are countless examples of ports being pushed together to share resources and make a better case for ships coming to call.

For China, in the long run, port consolidation is all about having a mature economy, nevertheless many rice bowls will be broken in the coming months as local fiefdoms are wrought under regional control.

Sinoship AUTUMN 2015

23

CONFIDENCE TO GO WHEREVER THE JOB TAKES YOU

THE MARSHALL ISLANDS REGISTRY service and quality are within your reach

International Registries (Far East) Limited in affiliation with the Marshall Islands Maritime & Corporate Administrators

tel: +852 2526 6641 | hongkong@register-iri.com | www.register-iri.com

INTRODUCING OUR RANGE OF

AUTOPILOTS RADAR • GYROS ECDIS • GPS www.splash247.com Splash - for incisive, exclusive maritime news and views 24/7.

PRO.SIMRAD-YACHTING.COM

HUBS: SHANGHAI ■ ■ ■

Insurance initiative The city is rolling out a number of plans to be a serious marine insurance player, writes Jason Jiang Shanghai, the largest port city in China, is upping its efforts in shipping insurance this year as part of the plan to improve all shipping-related services in the city.

Shanghai is already leading China’s other port cities in the sector with the exception of Hong Kong. China’s total shipping insurance revenue, not including Hong Kong, reached RMB15.1bn in 2014, and more than 50% of the revenue was completed by Shanghai.

Since the establishment of the Shanghai Free Trade Zone (FTZ) in 2013, there have been nine insurance companies who have set up shipping insurance operation centers in Shanghai, with another two in preparation.

In another impoerant development, this September the Shanghai Institute of Marine Insurance (SIMI) joined the International Union of Marine Insurance (IUMI).

Jiang Caishi, director of SIMI, says joining IUMI is a milestone in China’s shipping insurance development, and will support the development of the Shanghai International Shipping Center and the central government’s ‘One Belt, One Road’ initiative.

In the same month, Shanghai municipal government signed a memorandum of understanding with the China Shipowners Mutual Assurance Association (China P&I Club).

Under the MOU, the two parties will jointly facilitate China P&I Club’s development in Shanghai and create a favourable environment for the training of professional talents.

China P&I Club will set up

a new management entity in Shanghai and will operate to what it describes as international standards.

Shanghai has also been encouraging reform and innovation in the shipping insurance sector. According to Pei Guang, director at Shanghai Insurance Regulatory Commission (SIRC), the commission has introduced three measures to promote the development of shipping insurance.

The first is allowing the Shanghai Shipping Insurance Association to develop trial insurance clauses for member companies.

The second is cancelling approval procedures for insurance companies and reinsurance companies to establish branches in the FTZ. The third is cancelling approval procedures for the appointment of senior managers in insurance companies and reinsurance companies in the

FTZ. “The various reform measures in Shanghai FTZ have created synergy for the shipping insurance market,” Pei says, adding that Shanghai’s shipping insurance sector has gained an average annual growth rate of nearly 20% in the past three years.

Gu Wei, a senior manager in the transport insurance department at AIG, the first foreign insurance company that has been approved to establish shipping an insurance operation centre in Shanghai, reckons it is great timing to start the shipping insurance business in the city.

Gu says the law environment for shipping insurance in China still needs improvement. “Currently, there are only two Chinese laws to refer to for marine freight insurance, which is far from enough,” Gu says.

“Only if there is a mature law environment, tax environment

Currently, there are only two Chinese laws to refer to for marine freight insurance, which is far from enough

and information platform, Shanghai’s shipping insurance can compete on the international market, I think Shanghai should learn from London in this aspect,” he adds.

Although Shanghai is currently the largest port in the world in terms of cargo volume, the growth of freight insurance is still relatively slow.

“There’s a price war in the freight insurance sector, China’s freight insurance rate is only half of the international level,” says Gu. Ishii Makoto, general manager of Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance Company’s Shanghai branch, says the company wants to be more involved in the shipping insurance market in China. He hopes China can further open the insurance market to an international level.

The Shanghai Insurance Exchange, on the drawing board since 2011, is also expected to be established in Shanghai this year. Details of the framework of the insurance exchange have not been released yet. It is understood, however, that the insurance exchange would involve mainly property insurance, liability insurance, shipping insurance, health insurance and reinsurance. Exchange members would comprise insurers and insured parties, which have special insurance requirements. Services offered include those engaged in by insurance brokers, insurance assessors and other insurance intermediaries, as well as professionals such as accountants and lawyers. The exchange will offer risk securitisation products, catastrophe bonds and insurance derivatives.

Sinoship AUTUMN 2015

25

■ ■ ■ HUBS: TAIPEI

Boxship plans Katherine Si identifies fleet expansion plans among the island’s top three liners

Despite many in box shipping professing overcapacity still haunting the sector, Taiwan’s liners are piling on plenty of extra capacity.

Taiwan’s owners are well known for ordering counter-cyclically, but could this latest round of orders prove ill timed? Senior executives on the island are adamant the timing is right.

Evergreen Line, the largest Taiwanese liner, currently has a fleet containing around 200 containerships with an overall capacity of 960,000 teu. The company’s orderbook incorporates 11 ships of 18,000 teu (chartered), 10 ships of 14,000 teu (chartered) and 20 ships of 2,800 teu (owned) to be delivered from 2016 through 2019, the company explains to SinoShip.

The 2,800 teu ships are destined for the intra-Asia trades, with the first ship due to deliver in the second half of 2017. IntraAsia remains a bright spot for Evergreen.

26

www.splash247.com

Bronson Hsieh, Evergreen vice chairman, comments, “After the negotiations of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) are concluded, the ASEAN countries, Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand are expected to remove trade barriers, enhancing bilateral trades and thereby boosting regional cargo growth.

Our decision to invest in these

member of the CKYHE group, with other members being Cosco, K Line, Yang Ming and Hanjin. twinkling.

Yang Ming has been busy bolstering its fleet too. It has signed shipbuilding and chartering contracts with Japan’s Imabari Shipbuilding and its sister shipping line, Shoei Kisen Kaisha, for five 14,000 teu containerships.

Could this latest round of orders prove ill timed? newbuildings is aimed at providing for the growth potential brought about by this free trade development.”

Evergreen took the investment decision to introduce 18,000 teu vessels later than others, like it did with 10,000+ teu ships, its decision forced upon it by partners on AsiaEurope services where it is a

The vessels, costing $125m each, will be delivered between 2018 and 2019 and will be operated by Yang Ming under a long term charter deal.

Yang Ming currently owns ten 14,000 teu ships and has ordered another five at Taiwanese shipbuilder, CSBC. In May, Yang Ming gave up its plan to build 18,000 to 20,000

teu boxships and switched its focus to 14,000 teu designs.

By contrast, Wan Hai Lines is more conservative with its fleet expansion plans at the moment.

Wan Hai, consistently one of box shipping’s most consistent financial performers, currently manages 95 ships with 218,000 teu in capacity.

“Given the gloomy market outlook as well as the extreme overcapacity brought about by the cascading of larger ships from the deepsea trades, we do not hold any new shipbuilding orders on hand so far. However, we did take in a few secondhand ships to cater for our deployment needs,” Davis Kao, a spokesman of tells SinoShip.

“Since our main focus is still on the intra-Asia trade lanes, it is not very likely that we shall go for large-sized container ships at this moment, Kao continues.

Wan Hai has in recent months cut its exposure on the main east-west trades to concentrate on its speciality, intra-Asia.

HUBS: HONG KONG ■ ■ ■

As flag breaks milestone local owners demand service upgrade

Sam Chambers applauds the Hong Kong Shipping Register’s passing of the 100m gross tonne mark, but highlights areas for improvement Hong Kong has become only the fourth shipping register in the world to crack 100m gross tonnes on its books. The Hong Kong Shipping Register (HKSR) passed the 100m mark gross at the end of September with a total of 2,449 ships, the territory’s Marine Department said in a release yesterday.

The HKSR was set up on December 3, 1990, with a gross tonnage of 6m at the time. It slumped at around the time of the 1997 reunification with China but has steadily built itself up ever since.

Local owners, while applauding the landmark, have confided with SinoShip that the Marine Department needs to up its headcount and service quality to remain competitive among the biggest names in ship registry.

The department has been crippled by an ongoing court

case into the sinking of the Lamma IV, a ferry that sank in Hong Kong waters with the loss of 39 lives three years ago. A number of department employees – and key flag personnel have been embroiled in the case and have not been able to carry on working at the department.

The flag’s stunningly fast growth has not necessarily been commensurate with the number of staff running it – part of this problem is that the funds raised from the register go into a central government fund and are distributed across the Special Administrative Region rather than being ploughed

back into the flag.

At a shipowner lunch hosted by our sister title, Maritime CEO, in September there were calls for the Hong Kong flag to be run on a much more commercial basis – to make it a de facto separate organisation from the Marine Department.

Repeatedly the service quality of International Registries, Inc, which runs the Marshall Islands, the world’s third largest flag, was highlighted as something that the Hong Kong register ought to aspire to.

“To compete a ship's register must be competitive with other commercially run registries in

To compete a ship's register must be competitive with other commercially run registries in terms of service and round-the-clock availability

terms of service and round-theclock availability,” one leading owner commented.

“It lacks in commercial awareness and does not engage with industry proactively to develop and progress as we could hope for,” were the thoughts of a top shipmanager.

Meanwhile, another senior shipowner discussed his HR concerns at the register. “The loss of seasoned and experience master mariners and marine engineers which used to represent a robust portion of the personnel is being felt,” he maintained.

The local shipowners’ association has held plenty of dialogue with the Marine Department and the government of late on ways to improve the flag and there is hope that these suggestions have been taken onboard as it races beyond the 100m mark.

Sinoship AUTUMN 2015

27

■ ■ ■ BOOKS

The key to PR Paul French looks at how to manage disasters

Despite all the precautions corporations take sometimes disaster strikes. The last year has seen many and various events it would have been hard, if not impossible, to plan for. Think of the Malaysian Airways tragedies or the recent Tianjin factory zone explosion. Similarly newspapers have pounced on public relations issues across the region from tainted food products to mistreatment of employees.

Handling such events, protecting company integrity and brand loyalty as well as legal challenges is an essential part of business planning. Several new instructive books look at the issue of public relations from the perspective of Asia.

David Wolf is a seasoned veteran of many a corporate problem. Based in Beijing he is managing director of Global China 28

www.splash247.com

Practice for Allison+Partners.

His new book, Public Relations in China: Building and Defending your Brand in the PRC is the latest title in the useful Palgrave Pocket Consultants series. Wolf argues that China presents a massive market with intense competition and little brand loyalty, and that effective public relations are essential for any company seeking success. Yet, Wolf contends, few companies have found the right formula, but those who have done so have been rewarded with thriving franchises in

the world's largest market.

However, looking at recent corporate scandals and disasters in China Wolf argues that the time has come for public relations in China to turn away from its traditional role as corporate propagandists and make PR the strategic function it was always meant to be, a function that guides corporate behaviour and not just corporate communications. His handbook to successful PR in China is a good starting place.

Digital now plays a crucial role in any disaster or PR crisis.

Handling negative events, protecting company integrity and brand loyalty as well as legal challenges is an essential part of business planning

Mark Sheehan and Deirdre Quinn-Allan’s edited collection Crisis Communication in a Digital World examines the challenges PR professionals face in a world where social media is a key source of communication.

The book includes a host of examples of media meltdowns, natural disasters and celebrity crises through examining how to manage new phenomena such as global media cycles and social media activism.

In many cases seeming PR disasters can be turned around if corporations can get their message out coherently and quick enough. However, not everyone has deep enough pockets to hire a large PR company. Alex Singleton’s The PR Masterclass: How to Develop a Public Relations Strategy That Works comes highly recommended for those who might need to craft a response on a budget. In an easy-to-read format Singleton shows how to put in place a practical, reliable and successful media strategy, regardless of your budget.

Perfect for small- and mediumsized companies.

Disasters do occur – corporations make mistakes but sometimes the media, or governments, decide to target companies or products. As the Boy Scouts say, “Be Prepared” and the fall-out can be a lot less than if you are not in control of the situation. These books perhaps help companies to start crafting practises that should be a standard part of doing business in Asia, and indeed the rest of the world, now.

OPINION ■ ■ ■

Life in a silo and its consequences Andrew Craig-Bennett takes aim at those who have contributed to the many dead seafarers from transporting nickel ore

There is a managementspeak jargon phrase about people working in ‘silos’ such that they are unaware of what their colleagues are doing.

Asian companies, where the culture emphasises deference to authority rather than inquisitiveness, are more than usually prone to the ‘silo mentality’, and very often they neither know nor care what people elsewhere in their own offices are doing.

This is a story about how very little people know or care about the industry - merchant shipping - that they work in.

It came to pass, not terribly long ago, that ships which loaded nickel ore concentrate sometimes failed to arrive.

This was a fairly new cargo.

Nickel as a cargo was not new, but for very many years nickel was smelted and carried in the less bulky, more readily portable form of ingots, notably from places like Noumea in New Caledonia.

As Chinese industrial production grew there was an increase in the demand for nickel, and other sources of

supply were found. Nickel ore could be mined in Indonesia and in the Philippines. New mines were established, and, as often happens, the mines were not very well capitalised and their facilities for shipping out their product were rather simple.

Rather than smelt the ore, and ship ingots, these mines concentrated the ore and shipped it as fines in handysize bulk carriers. And China bought the cargoes, and everybody was happy. Until ships sometimes did not turn up.

When a ship is lost at sea, it often happens that she is insured, and so is her cargo. The people concerned with insurance noticed that ships with cargoes of nickel ore loaded at unknown and unheard of ports in Southeast Asia sometimes sank. And they asked why this might be. They asked experts.

And the experts told them that small mines in tropical climates were not in a good position to control the moisture content of the nickel ore fines that they stockpiled in order to load onto ships, because sometimes, it

rains in Southeast Asia.

And the experts said that the cargoes were slurry liquefying because they were above the transportable moisture limit, which is a number set up by the IMO as being the wettest that a given ore cargo can be before it becomes unsafe to carry in bulk by sea, as if it is any wetter it may suddenly behave like a liquid.

Now, the insurance people in general, and the P&I Clubs in particular, decided to do something, because ships sinking and seamen drowning are messy, and also expensive.

And it came to pass that the West of England P&I Club issued a circular requiring its member shipowners to ensure that cargoes of nickel ore fines should be checked by capable surveyors before they were loaded, to make sure that they were safe.

So the charterers wrote a clause into their charter parties for the carriage of nickel ore in bulk.

Did it say: "Cargo to be loaded under survey of a capable surveyor...?"

No. It said: "Vessel not to be

insured by the West of England P&I Club."

And shipowners’ chartering departments read this, and told their insurance departments not to insure ships with the West of England P&I Club.

And because the chartering department is mightier than the insurance department, a significant number of blithering idiots actually said okay, and drowned seamen and sank ships.

This is a true story of people in offices in shipping companies in Asia within the past five years, being too lazy to read up a problem, incredibly stupid, unbelievably stupid, and scared of their bosses, and greedy.

The problem is now less acute because the Indonesian government decided that it suited Indonesia better to export ingots, not fines.

This is not something that happened long ago. This is something that happened a couple of years ago. The people who did this have not been fired. They are still drawing their salaries today.

I think they should have been fired. Don't you?

Sinoship AUTUMN 2015

29

■ ■ ■ PHOTO FINISH

PHOTO FINISH ■ ■ ■ SOUTHERN CHARM Haikou’s fast evolving port still holds some history 南方魅力，海口快速发展的港口还是保持了一些历史底蕴 ©

Sam Chambers

Bringing maritime media out of the dark ages

Does your Chinese marketing for 2015 make the cut? www.sinoshipnews.com Sinoship 2014.indd 1

27/1/14 11:59 pm

m 日 在 .co 每 更新 247 文 ash 中 .spl w ww

无人船在中国 世界最大船东揭秘 新的扣船法律解释 2015年秋季刊

www.splash247.com

如何提升香港船旗 港口整合

航运和中国 下跌的煤矿需求

一带一路和新常态 民生总裁谈中国航运未来

ClassNK 伴随海事产业而成长 不断进取，积极应对 随着全球经济发展与结构转变，当今的海事产业正面临各种前所未有的挑战。 日本海事协会（简称ClassNK）注册船舶总吨约占世界商船总吨的20%，是全球 知名的船级社。我们充分理解海事产业的需求，并根据海事产业对安全航运的需 要，积极开展全新的服务与技术研发。在ClassNK主页上，您可以了解到更多我 们为保障各种船舶安全、防止海洋环境污染所作出的努力。www.classnk.or.jp

目录 ■ ■ ■

■ ■ ■ 定期报道 1 编者语 4 经济 7 班轮 9 船厂 11 离岸 12 金融 13 商品 14 物流

■ ■ ■ 人物专访 13 卢晓钟 14 孙亚明 15 梁栋 17 John Su

■ ■ ■ 专题

即便一系列钻井平台全部 开工，近海储备船只仍然会 过剩

10

—Mike Meade, M3 Marine创始人

航运业的最好时候即将临

13

— 卢晓钟，民生实业董事长

船队优化，业务多元化和成 本控制是我们唯一的选择

18 法律 20 港口

14

— 孙亚明，太行海运

■ ■ ■ 枢纽 21 上海 22 台北 23 香港

■ ■ ■ 评论 24 书籍

低油价带动了中国储油需求 — 梁栋 海昌华海运总裁

15

■ ■ ■ 意见 25 Andrew Craig-Bennett

干散货航运市场正在面临过去 30年的最低谷 — Erasmus Shipinvest 创始人 John Su

17

Sinoship 2015年秋季刊

1

*** ADVERT

编者语 ■ ■ ■

www.sinoshipnews.com ASM刊物 编辑主管 Sam Chambers sam@asiashippingmedia.com 首席通讯记者 司湘

katherine@asiashippingmedia.com 通讯记者 姜浩

jason@asiashippingmedia.com 北京 上海 香港 大连 广州 台北

Li Deng Bai Colin Shek Alfred Romann Mark Downing Wang Fanglei David Green

顽固不化的航运 业将主导地位拱 手让与监管机构

供稿人

Bei Hong, Charles De Trenck, Matthew Flynn, Paul French, Max Hong, Li Dong, Manish Singh 摄影

André Eichman, Basil Pao 所有编辑资料请发送至sam@asiashippingmedia.com 或邮寄到中国大连中山区人民路9号701办公室， 邮编116001 商务主管 Grant Rowles grant@asiashippingmedia.com 销售主管 Helen Ong helen@asiashippingmedia.com SinoShip同时也在东京、首尔和奥斯陆设有广告 代理机构。欲获取当地代理联系信息请发送邮件 到grant@asiashippingmedia.com。 媒体信息可在www.asiashippingmedia.com下载。 所有商务资料请发送至grant@asiashippingmedia. com 或邮寄到Asia Shipping Media Pte Ltd 30 Cecil Street, #19-08 Prudential Tower Singapore 049712 设计 Tigersoft Pte Ltd 印刷 香港雅联印刷有限公司 订阅 总部设在中国的所有海运公司都可以免费获取SinoShip 期 刊。对于 所 有 其 他 公 司，订 阅 S i n o S h i p 2 014 年 4 期 需 要 收 费10 0 美 元 。订 阅 每 月 发 行 两 次 的 P D F 格 式 的 S i n o S h i p电子 新 闻（包 含 独 家 新 闻 、数 据 和 分 析）需 收 费5 0 0 美 元。订 阅 咨 询 请发 送 邮 件 到 su b s@ asiashippingmedia.com。 版权 © Asia Shipping Media Pte Ltd (ASM), 2014 为确保 本刊物所包含信息的准确性，尽管作出了所有努 力，但出版社 对可能出现的任何错误或疏忽不承担任何 责任。版权所有。未事先获得版权拥有人的书面批准，不 得对本刊物的任何部分进行复制、储存于检索系统或以 任何形式或方式传输。

哥本 哈 根 是一个极其注重环保的地方。 正因如此，几周前当有一艘Danish Maritime 征用的电动渡轮缓缓地在城中河道上航行 时，船上的导游说这里的沿河游泳池连丹 麦储妃都会去— —虽然我去的时候，天 气还有些冷。 丹麦比我到过的大多数国家都更注重环 保。丹麦的问题是它遥遥领先于其它大多 数推行环保议程的国家——当然包括中 国在内。 在近期的丹麦海事日及其核心的丹麦海 事论坛上提出的许多远大理念同样如此。 与会者一方面被反复告知航运享有功能 强大的绿色环保认证，一方面又被警告会 面临第21届缔约国大会（即将召开的巴黎 联合国气候变化峰会）的威胁，还有先行采 取环保措施的国家与落后国家之间的不平 等竞争。 论坛上总结道，代表需成为“福音传道 者”，组成“自愿联盟”，团结更多航运业 者，争取支持— — 否则就会面临激怒环 境监管机构的风险。 问题是，说起来容易，因为这些精心挑 选出来的与会者在绿色航运方面已经是佼 佼者，而我担心的是，要说服其居于多数的 竞争者效仿积极分子，恐怕并无可能。事实 上，航运业一向也将永远受制于在团结一 致方面的无能，也无法领先于监管机构。 我享受待在哥本哈根的一周，却又着实 感伤，因为航运业就像一支接力队那样，只 有当每一位选手都接纳并传递接力棒的时 候，才能取得成绩。但众所周知，这个行业 里有太多不达标、钻营取巧、刁钻铿吝的竞

争者。这种非常不公平、不对等的竞争注定 将持续下去。

Sam Chambers Editor sam@asiashippingmedia.com

Sinoship 2015年秋季刊

3

■ ■ ■ 经济

莫受股市过山车影响 货币贬值终将促进出口

过 去 几 个 月，受 上海证券交 易所蹊跷的股市过山车影响， 中国股市下行容易上行难。但 也有一些头脑冷静的人。这些 已 经 见识 过 上 海 交 易所异常 表现，或者是在中国做长线的 人，在被迫等待的同时，多在期 望市场最终回复正轨。股市崩 盘也许是罪有应得（创业板指 数的交易价格翻了140多倍）， 但这件事似乎对整体经济微乎 其微。 在中国经营的人 必 须 要认 识到股市并不等于这个国家的 整体经济。考虑到有大量的散 户投资者参与其中，股市的起 伏远远无法代表这个国家在工 业、生产中心及出口加工区的发 4

www.splash247.com

展状况。最好还是先研究下中 国经济的基本面。 第一，中国的GDP增长率正 在减缓，而且大部分经济分析

师都预测其经济增长在未来几 年内会逐步放缓，至2020年， 可能会下降到5%或6%。但考虑 到中国非常高的基数，这仍然

中国2015年上半年月出口额

月份 一月 二月 三月 四月 五月 六月 七月

出口额（1亿美元） 2002.58 1691.91 1445.69 1763.31 1900.58 1920.11 1950.97

来源：中国海关总署

是非常快的增长。 第二，还需注意到，中国的 劳动力市场依然保持稳定。这 意味着工人们还有钱可赚，而 这薪水来自实际（扣除通货膨 胀因素）零售收 入。该数据在 六月份同比增长10.6%，是四个 月来增长最快的。 网上零售业 增长尤其强劲，今年上半年比 去年同期增长了39%。 第三，尽管传言散户投资者 都已淡出股市，家庭负债仍处 于非常低的水平，而存款率居 高不下。中国家庭的人民币银行 存款折合8.5万亿美元，比俄罗 斯、巴西、印度及意大利四国的 GDP总和还要多。 当 然，由 股 市 下 滑 引 发 的 人民币贬值对出口贸易是有益 的。中国企业对劳动力价格上 涨和汇率高企的双重打击已经 抱怨良久。已经走低的出口贸 易，随着货比贬值（大多数贸易 在国际间以美元定价），订单落 实，应会再次回暖。当然北京政 府对人民币的贬值只是“有限 的贬值”，而且在货币贬值和订 单增加中间还会有时间迟滞效 应——但该来的还是会来。 相反地，进口产品会变得更 加昂贵。许多工业分析师都认 为，面对 世界上高科 技的日益 发展，以及东南亚国家在低端 领域的低薪 优势，中国为了维 持竞争力，应该为升级当前的 生产设施而进行投资。若进口 价格提高，设备更新将面临难 题。在下半年北京必须一如既 往地就货币价值寻求恰当的平 衡。

我们为您的船队带来非常可 靠、灵活的全球服务。我们 的创新技术为您的业务提供 具有革命性的数据和通信渠 道，让每一次航行都更加安 全和智能。

成就 海事 生态系统_ 更安全，更智能，更通畅 Inmarsat为您的船舶提供迅速发展的海上通信生态环境，提升每次航行的效率和安全性。 简而言之，您的航行将更显智能。详情请访问inmarsat.com

■ ■ ■ 班轮

言。CMES和中国外运长航于 2014年建立一家合资企业—— 中国能源运输有限公司(China VLCC)。

中远集团和中国海运集团继 续暂停其股票交易，两家公司 均已表示，停牌将一直持续到 他们所谓的复杂事项结束， 该事项可能涉及资产重组。两 家集团的上市单位于8月10日停 牌，声称集团“正在筹划重大 事项”，人们普遍认为这一举 动意味着中国的两大航运公司 将合二为一。根据VesselValue. com的数据显示，中远集团和中 国海运集团合二为一，将拥有 一支价值超过100亿美元的船 队，这一数字超过全球任何其 他航运公司。

中国最大的国内集装箱航运公 司之一南青集装箱班轮公司宣 布破产。该公司的许多船只已 被扣留。南青起自于一家国营 航运公司，在2008年便濒于破 产边缘。一家总部设在温州的 跨行业集团——浙江挺宇集 团——将其收购，并任命挺宇 集团总裁潘佩聪担任该公司总 裁，之后南青起死回生。

今年十月，台湾勇利航业经历 股东“大换血”，孙粗洪的 Success United Development成为 最大股东，而大名鼎鼎的航运 元老许志坚（曾是Sino Ship的封 面人物）卸任这家干散货航运 公司董事长一职。许志坚于 2001年共同创办了勇利航业。

中远集团于九月宣布，其已与 国内四家造船厂签订协议，共 建造十一艘19,000标准箱的集 装箱船。其中，大连中远川崎船 舶工程公司(DACKS)和南通中 远川崎船舶工程公司(NACKS) 将承建六艘，CSSC旗下的外高 桥造船公司将承建三艘，剩余 两艘将由CSIC旗下的大连船舶 重工公司承建。这些船舶的总 价约为15.1亿美元。

今年九月，日本商行丸红以 2,100万美元出头的价格售出 47,407dwt的成品油船Nord Optimiser，此船舶建造于尾道 造船厂。买家是大连瑞海，这标 志着该公司在出售其两艘船舶 之后，重新晋升为船东。瑞海 是大连最大且最多元化的综合

招商局能源运输公司(CMES) 和中国外运长航旗下上市子公 司中外运空运发展公司均于 九月发布公告，否认招商局集 团与中国外运长航合并的传

性企业集团——海昌集 团——旗下子公司。

福建国航远洋运输公司是一 家主要涉足干散货运领域的公 司，该公司现正在天津建立石 油运输分支。该公司将投资人 民币3,000万元（470万美元）建 立新油轮部门，并将在天津东 疆保税港区登记注册。

九月底，上海市海事法院通过 拍卖出售一艘为温州福来登海 运公司所有的28,789dwt散货 船，以解决该公司与其船员之 间的工资纠纷。今年二月，约 30名在福来登海运公司工作的 船员向法院起诉该公司，要求 该公司支付已拖欠他们近一年 的工资。

m time-ceo.co www.mari O ISSUE TW

2015

Nor-Shipping Special

Norwegian own offshore, finan ers, travel plus our ce and annual Rich List

The title for leading shipping insights 250 interviews with the top names in shipping every year… guaranteed

ont man fr w e n s ’ n e Fredriks bert Macleod e Ro tlin ival of Fron and the rev

Maritime

6

ay.indd

CEO 2015M

1

www.splash247.com

18/5/15

14:28

船厂 ■ ■ ■

朝向船舶无人化的飞跃？ Katherine Si 记录了中国建造自主船舶所作出的努力 围 绕自主 船舶的争论现在很 火热，似乎每次会议都会提起 并引发业间对立。这个概念已 经不是什么新鲜事了 - 对无人 操纵船舶的讨论可追溯至二战 时期。 中国有自己实现技术飞跃的 计划。一条无人海洋调查船已 经交付，将用于天气预报，而现 在该国正在积极构思无人驾驶 货船的设计和原理。 两个最大的中国造船集团之 一的中国船舶工业集团公司， 正在寻求与国内的造船业界（ 包括中国船舶工业集团公司系 统工程研究所、SDARI、沪东中 华造船、沪东重机和黄埔文冲

造船厂）合作开发第一代“智 能船舶”。 第一个项目是发展一种20万 吨级远洋轮船。该船舶将配备 超 过30 0 个传感器，以连续监 测船舶运行状况和海况。 “这种智能船舶的运算能力 将分担船员50%的工作量”，中 国船舶工业集团公司系统工程 研究所所长张红军表示。 该研发项目背后的人们坚信 智能船舶将提高海上工作的安 全性。大部分海上事故是由于

人为因素，而中船集团声称其 智能船舶可减少70%的事故， 并使航行效率提高10%。 智 能 船 舶 项目 将天 气 、油 价、运费和其它相关信息导入 到岸上数据中心，这样可使船 舶选择最合理的路线和速度。 中国船舶工业集团公司的官 员也迅速降低了无人船舶的成 本 – 这是让船东望而却步的一 个因素。中船集团的张先生称， 在初次亮相的智能船舶上并没 有太多新增的硬件，关键是通过

对无人操纵船舶的讨论可追溯至 二战时期

软件和传感器形成数据。 这一 突 破 性 船 舶的 设 计由 SDARI带头开始进行。 “这可能需要几年的时间。 这是一个巨大的挑战，但也将 成为业界的一大喜讯”，SDARI 的一位官员告诉SinoShip。 “我们正处于无人驾驶货船 设计和建造的最初阶段。当我 们完成设计时，我们的船厂可 自行制造”，他补充道。 中国似乎矢志要与英国的劳 斯莱斯公司竞相建造第一只自 主船舶。这家英国引擎制造商 已在其自主船舶项目中引入了 许多高资历的人才，并在该项 研究上领先CSSC若干年。 Sinoship 2015年秋季刊

7

M3 MARINE GROUP 亚洲最大的独立海洋船舶经纪与海事顾问集团之一

M3 Marine Expertise（海事专业服务）

M3 Marine Offshore Brokers（远洋船舶经纪）

•OCIMF OVID & IMCA CMID视察 •IMCA 潜水系统审计 •FMEA 制作 & 审计 •DP 咨询/ 年度 DP 试航 •预购视察 •技术/商务 尽职调查

•租船（定期租船和光船租赁) •销售与购买（包括新造船）

•市场调研 •船舶估价 •项目分析 •专家鉴证

M3 Marine Expertise: expert@m3marine.com.sg M3 Marine Offshore Brokers: mail@m3marine.com.sg

www.m3marine.com.sg 1 Commonwealth Lane #09-19 ONE Commonwealth Singapore 149544. Tel: +65 6327 4606

: +852 2526 6641 | hongkong@register-iri.com | www.register-iri.com sinoship ad vertical.indd 1

3/9/12 5:24 PM

离岸 ■ ■ ■

螺旋式下降 来自M3 Marine的Mike Meade提供了一幅对惨淡价格环境的冷静写照 近海产业 继续艰难运营，即使 最受推崇和经营良好的企业也 疲于争取利润，甚或需要努力 实现正向现金流。 海洋产业之外，全球石油和 天然气行业面临可怜的预期盈 利，因为资本支出和营业成本正 在受到削减。整个行业继续面 临市场挑战，包括石油企业、船 东、服务提供商和造船厂。 整个产业的使用率平均下降 40%，一些区域比其他区域受 影响更为严重（北海/美国墨西 哥湾）。租船率下降，再次徘徊 在40%左右。这对船只价格造 成极大压力，而船舶的过量供

应（现有船队加上大量新建船 只）恶化了这一形势。 该市场供需失去平衡；即便 一系列钻井平台全部开工，近 海储备船只仍然会过剩。

中国和希腊的一些市场情况、 伊朗的核协议、页岩油的持续 威胁和资产持续供大于求，油 价已跌至低于每月50美元。 解除对伊朗的国际制裁，应

即使一系列钻井平台全部开工， 近海支援船只仍然会过剩 二手/ 转售空间的船舶估价 多年相对健康，但是自经济衰 退开始后，这些估价已经急剧 下降，差幅多达20-30%，对于 旧船，下降更多。 刚刚过去的这个季度，由于

该可以重振中东地区的近海支 援船只市场。但是，增加出口量 将会对油价产生抑制作用。伊 朗近期不会增加石油产量，因 为在国际原子能机构（IAEA） 报告证明伊朗履行承诺削减

相关核设施之前，制裁不会解 除。想要额外产量产生效果， 还需进行大量的开发/维护。据 专家估计，从本年度第三季度 末起，实施协议需要花费4到12 个月时间，因此解除制裁的最 早时间要到2016年第一季度。 截 至 到 六 月，我 曾 经 预 计 2015年和2016年的布伦特原油 价格分别为每桶60美元和70美 元。由于近期再度回调，我对 此已不再具有同等信心。卡耐 基能源最近进行的一项调查发 现，有半数投资者认为，油价在 一年内将介于60美元至70美元 之间，其余的人中认为价格水平 会稍高和稍低的又各占一半。 业内人士正在通过实施严厉 的措施，如大幅削减成本和裁 员，以便让他们的组织应对更 具挑战性的商业气候，调整中 采取的方式依照走出衰退时的 价格水平。成本削减措施不幸 地造成了大量的失业，几大石 油公司和承包商 - 包括壳牌、 雪佛龙公司、德西尼布和伊博 姆公司 - 已经开始数以千计的 裁员活动。 为了生存，关键要在这个充 满挑战的时期从新市场和特色 市场发现机遇，保障业务的可 持续发展。对于大多数近海产 业，人们的重点已经从深海转 移到浅海项目，并且侧重于短 期生产项目。一些深海项目尚 在持续，部分精选深海油田仍 在继续开发。深海开发拥有可 靠的前景，并且从长远来看， 也比页岩开发更加经济和可持 续。在海底项目中，由于需要较 低的资本支出，连接到现有生 产中心的海底回接设施仍然受 到青睐。 另一 个 值得 期待的市场是 近海住宿市场，从2015到2020 年，尽管整个近海行业资本支 出下降，船载居住单元的需求 量将达到年平均42000人。 Sinoship 2015年秋季刊

9

■ ■ ■ 金融

世界上最大的船东揭晓 Sam Chambers 听到上述问题的答案时大吃一惊。不，不是中远集团

谁 是 世 界 上最大的船东？在 今年九月的伦敦国际航运周召 开 的国际 船 东 及 船 舶 管 理 峰 会上，Stavros Tsolakis教授向 与会的10 0 位听众 抛出了这个 问题。大家异口同声地喊出中 远集团、三井、马士基、日本邮

油轮专家组在购买船 型上意见不一 在Marine Money于九月 举办的新加坡 船 舶财经论坛 上，油轮专家组在投资哪种船 型上意见不一。在油轮会议结 束时，专家组被问到如果有一 亿美元，他们将投资什么。

10

www.splash247.com

船、橡树资本等航运巨头，但都 被这位新加坡管理大学的航运 经济学专家一一否定。那答案 是什么呢？韩国发展银行和中 国工银租赁。这是伦敦会议上 聚焦私募基金的一小时会议的 开端。Tsokalis还指出，韩国进

出口银行是世界上最大的造船 公司之一。 Tsolakis教授表 示，当下全 球船东所面临的财政状况与上 个世纪80年代非常相似。他表 示， “假如你是一个希腊船东， 你就 得和国家 来竞争。”并解 释道，许多国家将大量资金投 入到了一些亏损的实体经济。 “ 国家与船东争利，船东和国有 背景公司展开市场竞争，”他说 道，并表 示船东只有精简自己 的业务才能与之抗衡或勉强在 这场竞争中活下来。 关于私 募基 金，Tsokalis教 授指出，在前几年追随大船东 的热潮冷却下来后，现在的私 募基金还是比较中意投资小船 东。 他还预测，当航运市场稳定 下来后，流动资金回流银行， 私募基金将逐渐从航运舞台上 退出。 但 全 球唯一 一家依 靠私 募 基金的船舶管理公司V. Group 的总 裁 兼 首席执 行官C l ive Richardson却有不同的看法，他 甚至认为，如果在2008年之前

有更多的私募基金参与，航运 市场在21世纪头十年出现的一 些过剩现象或许能得到遏制。 R i c h a r d s o n 表 示，“ 我 认 为，2 0 0 8 年 后，私 募 基 金 给 航 运 业带 来 的 作用 还 是 积 极 的。”并解释道，私募投资更加 注重回报和风险管理。 他指出，自20 08年以来，私 募基金已在航运业投入250亿 美元，并对业内的股权和债务 进行了“更健康”的划分。 Richardson表示，不能将航 运业的运力过剩归咎于私募基 金，他援引Marine Money的数 据，即私募基金只占到去年全 球交易的10%。 “私募基金并不 是某些人所 说的蝗虫。”他表 示。 作为当前 唯一 依 靠 私 募 基 金的船 舶管 理 公司，V.Gr oup 仍然领先于竞争对手，Richard 说，这意味着我们相对于自己 的 竞 争对 手 拥 有更 强的 资 金 实力，我们的领先地位迫使其 他公司进行整合，比如近期两 大香 港船 舶管 理公司A n g lo Eastern与Univan的合并。

Euronav的首席财务官Hugo De Stoop表示，他将投资超大型 油轮，理由是全世界只有八九 家船舶公司能建造此类船型。 Quantum Pacific Shipping的副 首席财务官Cyril Ducau更加谨 慎，他告诉与会者： “我没有看 到一个迫切需要投资的领域。” DVB银行的油轮部门主管

Frans van de Bospoort表示， 他 会 选 择 投 资小 型 成 品油 轮，理由是该领域的订单量较 小。Ridgebury Tankers的合伙 人兼首席财务官Huw Crooks支 持这一观点。Crooks表 示，他 很高兴看到其他专家对原油油 轮普遍持谨慎态度。他还认为 一些年限稍长、规模较小的集

装箱船是不错的投资选择。 Arctic Securities的分析师 Erik Statsveth作出了短期和长 期预测。他说，预计比利时油 轮巨头Euronav今年将继续取 得强劲盈利，因此，他将在未 来三个月投入所有积蓄购买该 公司股票。从长期来看，他认 为LNG是最佳投资。

商品 ■ ■ ■

粮食重点 Mark Downing 谈中国在食品安全上的努力

大 约 海 运 干散货物的十分之 一是作为粮食，饲料和工业用 的谷物。拥有世界第五多的人 口和不到十分之一的耕地，中国 正被迫进入国际农业供应链， 尽管过去几十年中国在粮食方 面都是自己自足。 自从大跃进以来，中国政府 一直长期追求粮食自给自足并 抗拒市场力量进口土地密集型 从作物。多年来官员们一直在 放宽自给自足的定义因为他们 承 认 粮 食 进口需 求 的 不 断 增 长。为了适应通过 进口满足中 国国内食品需求，相关的政策 也被调整，然而市场还是受各 种贸易壁垒限制，以防止进口 变为主导地位。 决策者们始终认为中国必须 生产大多数主粮，而不是依赖

难以预料的国际市场。 然而这将导致食物生产政策 方面的不足，比如给农民补贴 以生产比进口价格更低廉的粮 食以及在需要大量化学提升的 不适宜耕地上耕种的奖励。 由于政府政策带动生产，中 国的粮食生产处于或接近历史 最高水平。中国的国内粮食产量 在2003到2013年增长了40%并 且达成了在2010年设定的5.5亿 吨的目标。尽管有进一步提高 生产率的潜力，产量最终还是 将被固定的耕地和优先的未受

污染的水源所限制。中央政府 2020年的生产目标设定在了可 达成的5.5亿吨，比预计的7.2亿 吨国内需求以及2014年的6.07 亿吨的产量都低。 主要食物的生产和牲畜的饲 料玉米，小麦和大 米占了国内 消费的95%。然而决策者在“粮 食自给自足”在定义上松动走 向“食用粮食自给”，使包括大 豆在内的饲料粮等进口比例在 去年推高到了85%。 在2011年，中国失去了满足本 土食用需求的能力，并成为世界

决策者们始终认为中国必须生产 大多数主粮，而不是依赖难以预料 的国际市场。

最大的农产品进口国和净进口 国。中国从玉米的净出口国变为 净进口国，并开始进口大量的蒸 馏用干谷物。进口大豆的增长满 足了国内蓬勃发展的畜牧业。 中国的玉米和玉米替代品进 口，包括大麦，高粱和酒糟颗粒 在今年七月创出历史新高。饲 料厂借低廉的海外价格取代了 处于中央储备系统中得昂贵国 内谷物。 美国农业部预计中国的农业 进口将一直增长到2023年，大 豆将成为主导的进口商品，玉 米进口也将增长。 长期以来，中国一直将自给 自足作为一项政策，提供政府 合法性措施。这在本十年之初 并没有实现，反而转变成世界 最大的粮食进口国。 Sinoship 2015年秋季刊

11

■ ■ ■ 物流

无防爆设置 天津爆炸后，江南春看中国危险品行业

8月12日，天津港国际物流中 心发生巨大爆炸，造成至少145 丧生，并对周边地区造成严重 损坏。此次从太空中都可见的 爆炸，源于海瑞国际物流（一家 危险货物物流供应商）运营的 化学品仓储设施。 此次 爆 炸暴露了高额 利润 的危险化学品贸易业的监管不 力。中国监察机关指控了包括市 交通委员会、港口经营商、安全 生产机构、地方规划管理局和 天津海关等部门在内的11名高 级官员，这些人员对此次致命爆 炸负有渎职过失。 在天津爆炸后不久，其它几 个化工厂又接连发生爆炸和火 灾，包括8月22日和8月31日附近山 12

www.splash247.com

东省发生的两起爆炸，共造成14 人丧生。山东的两起爆炸均发生 于新开发的地方化工园区内。 爆炸后，已提出关于危险品 仓储行业的安全问题。为应对 这些问题，中国国务院已表示将 对全国范围内从事危险化学品 和爆炸物品的企业进行检查， 并责令各级地方政府在处理危 险材料的工业项目周围的安全区 内严格执行相关法律，坚决贯 彻落实关于剧毒化学品的监管 措施。 中国工业和信息化部部长苗 圩表示，在8月底，全国约1,000 家化工厂计划加强安全，相关 搬迁成本计4,000亿人民币（628 亿美元）。

隶属上海国际港务集团 （SIPG）的上海港城危险品物流 公司，已于9月将其主要储存场 从浦东迁至人口较少的芦潮港 地区。 供应链技术公司 Elementum 表示，可能出现的中国化工厂搬 迁活动可能促使化学品价格上 涨，货物更加稀缺。 根 据另一家供 应链 公司 Resilinc的一份报告，天津爆炸 可能造成未来几个月内物流延 迟和其它供应链问题，即便港口 本身运营恢复正常也将如此。 据中国化工协会的一名官员 表示，在天津爆炸后，部分化工 产品的价格已开始上涨，且预计 此情况将持续数月。

据中国仓储协会（CAWA）秘 书长柴保身表示，中国已成为全 世界第二大危险品制造国，但是 市场却监管不力。 柴表示，危险货物储存是一 个高利润行业，而且目前的危险 品仓库并不能完全满足市场需 求，这也吸引了大量缺乏处理危 险货物经验的物流公司进入该 领域。 “没有为危险品仓储行业的 工作人员颁发的国家级职业证 书，各地自行制定了标准，但差 异很大，”柴表示。 “ 如 今 管 理 机 构的当务之 急是建立涵盖该行业所有环节 的 标准，包括生 产、销售和仓 储，”柴警告说。

人物专访 ■ ■ ■

一带一路与中国新常态 民生公司有望受益于北京提出的最新理论

的

确，船运必须适应中国经济 增速放缓的“新常态”，但 是对于具备足够灵活性的企 业，北京的一带一路政策可 以为所在行业带来“黄金时代”。民生实业 （集团）有限公司总裁和民生轮船股份有 限公司董事长卢晓钟就抱有这种观点。 民生公司于1925年在重庆创办。1984 年，公司在重庆重建，仍以长江作为业务重 点。现今，民生公司成为中国最大的综合型 物流企业之一。 2009年，民生实业（集团）有限公司和 上海国际港务（集团）股份有限公司合资 成立民生轮船股份有限公司。 该航运公司拥有40余艘300标准集装箱 货船覆盖长江流域，以及18艘滚装船，总 装运量达共12300标准车位。此外还有集 装箱海轮6艘，其触角除了沿着中国海岸延 伸之外，还触及其它亚洲港口。 卢先生表示， “在北京提出的一带一路 倡议的指引下，公司计划添置大型长江集 装箱船，以及海运集装箱船，扩大承载能 力”。 “由于全球经济尚未复苏，国内经济 依然面临极大压力，这意味着目前并非巨 幅扩大船队的好时机。然而，投资于一些 有强大市场需求和经济利益的船舶是没有 问题的，”卢先生继续道。 卢先生断言， “船运业正在迎来黄金时 代”。 北京极力推动的一带一路 倡议涵盖从 匈牙利到印度尼西亚的广大地区，当局估 计该倡议将在下一个十年为中国新增2.5万 亿美元贸易额，该数字超过了2013年的全 年出口额。 考虑到公司的国际化发展，卢先生于今 年3月任命曾任ZIM高管以及香港金星轮船 有限公司和CNC行业有限公司CEO的Igal

Dafni为民生轮船公司执行总裁。 除了一带一路外，卢先生指出，中国发展 长江经济带以及京津一体化等倡议都将是 国内船东的利好消息。 卢先生还对北京出台的船舶报废补贴 大加赞扬，这将在不太遥远的未来为国内 船运业恢复竞争均势。 卢先生坚称， “船运业现在正在迎接一 个新的黄金时代的到来，”。 但与此同时，卢先生也承认目前行业需 要适应中国的所谓“新常态”经济，这意味 着船运产能过剩而且需求不足。中国两位 数的GDP增长速度已经成为了过去。

在今年开辟了前往东北亚、东南亚和南 亚的航线之后，民生公司计划下一步前往 中东经营业务，顺应一带一路倡议。

民生公司 于1925年创立，并于2009年与上 海国际港务(集团)股份有限公司 设立了航运部门。除了国内运输 网外，公司正在将业务快速扩展 到整个亚洲。

船运业正在迎来黄金时代 Sinoship 2015年秋季刊

13

■ ■ ■ 人物专访

黑暗时代 中国海运煤炭业正在衰落。船东必须发挥创意才能生存。Jason Jiang 报告

由

于经济增长放缓和改善全国 空气的呼声，国内煤炭交易 市场的低迷仍旧明显。太行 海运有限公司，是由在上海 上市的山西煤炭国际能源集团控股的一家 船队，目前正在努力使其业务重回正轨。 太行海运有限公司于2009年在秦皇岛 （世界最大的煤炭贸易港口之一）成立。 公司开展国内和国际航运服务，拥有10艘 散装船只，总运量为50万载重吨。另外两 艘船舶也正在建造中。 据太行海运和山西煤碳国际能源集团 总裁孙亚明所说，产能过剩问题和政府对 构成污染的煤炭的限制加剧了煤炭市场的 悲观前景，而石油和天然气价格的下降也 降低了该国对煤炭的依赖。 中国国家发展和改革委员会在九月份 制订了一份计划，到2020年将煤炭在国家 能耗中的占比从目前的66%削减到60%， 同时通过非煤炭发电满足新增的国家能 源需求。 中国煤炭工业自2013以来，一直处于 低迷状态。据中国煤炭工业协会的统计， 在2015年上半年全国70%以上煤炭企业遭 受亏损，公司利润总额较2012年同期下降 了近90%。 孙估计煤炭价格几乎触底，已没有太 多下降空间。不过，他认为，干散货航 运市场还需要两到三年时间恢复。孙告 诉SinoShip，太行海运需要为下一轮市场 的“黄金时代”做好准备。 “我认为船队优化、业务多元化和成 本控制是我们唯有的选择，否则我们将逐 步被市场淘汰”，孙补充说，该公司目前 正在寻求购买两到四艘二手散货船，以改 善公司的盈利能力和可持续性。 该公司一直在努力通过减速航行优化 其成本结构，并且过去两年在减少损失方

14

www.splash247.com

船队优化、业务多元化和成本控制是我们唯有 的选择 面已取得进展。 在2015年上半年，尽管母集团总产量 下降，太行航运有限公司仍然完成583万 吨的煤炭运输量，同比增长25%。与2014 年同期相比，亏损减少730万人民币（115 万美元）。 太行航运有限公司最近与中国外贸金 融租赁公司达成了一项6亿人民币（9410 万美元）的售后回租交易，为旗下船队添 置四条散装货船。孙称这笔交易极大地提 高了公司的财务灵活性。 孙透露，母公司山西煤炭国际正在研 究一条战略，将集团从传统的煤炭生产 商转变为业内综合服务供应商，而太行

海运有限公司是这一战略的一个关键组 成部分。

太行海运 作为在上海上市的山西煤碳国际 能源集团的全资子公司，太行航 运有限公司于2009年成立。该公 司船队目前拥有10艘散货船，50 万载重吨的总运量。

人物专访 ■ ■ ■

油轮喜讯 深圳市海昌华海运公司掌门人享受目前的原油牛市

深

圳市海昌华海运公司是一 家国内油轮运营商，尽管 航 运市场整体萧条，但该 公司今年正在大力扩建船 队。该公司主要从事国内沿海及长江市场 的石油和化学品运输。其也提供从广东、 广西、福建和海南的主要港口至香港和澳 门的运输服务。 董事长梁栋于1996年成立海昌华海运公 司。在成立之初，公司仅依靠租用船开展 业务，但现在已有油轮16艘，总载重吨位达 75,000左右。该公司还于2014年在全国中小 企业股份转让系统(NEEQ)中挂牌。

梁董事长表示，与包括干散货航运和集 装箱航运在内的其他航运部门相比，目前 国内石油和化学品航运相对稳定，但该公 司仍面临下游行业需求下降的风险。 梁董事长表示，今年公司在市场拓展和 改善服务上投入更多精力。 “现在我们的主 要工作是巩固与大型石油和化工公司的关 系，”梁董事长表示。目前，海昌华海运公 司的主要客户是各大能源集团（包括中国 石油、中海油和中国石油天然气集团）的子 公司。 该公司最近还在华南地区的惠州港设立 了一个技术管理办公室，以更好地服务该

低油价也带动中国的储油需求上扬

地区的石化项目。 梁董事长表示，今年上半年，公司船队 新增两艘载重吨位达7,000的油轮，与此同 时，去年处于维修和保养状态的很多船舶 已恢复运输。 梁董事长表示， “今年船队明显壮大，” 并补充道，最近公司又买进两艘油轮，并将 在今年年底前投入运营，届时，与去年同期 相比，船队运力将增加75％。 该公司一直在积极寻找除银行借款外的 其他融资渠道。五月，海昌华海运公司推出 债务融资计划，为船队扩建筹得资金人民 币8,000万元（1,250万美元），目前，该公司 正计划向机构投资者发行1,500万股新股， 以筹集人民币1.08亿元（1,700万美元）左右 的资金。梁董事长表示，筹到的资金将改 善公司的债务结构。 “目前，燃 油价格处于相 对较低的水 平，这有助于我们控制成本，”梁董事长表 示。 梁董事长推测油轮市场在第四季度将有 所增长。 “尽管整体经济增长放缓，但低油 价也带动中国的储油需求上扬，”他表示。 因此，梁董事长预计，今年的收入和利 润将高出许多。

深圳市海昌华 海运公司

成立于1996年，主要从事国内 沿海及长江市场的石油和化学 品运输。公司现有油轮16艘，总 载重吨位约为75,000。

Sinoship 2015年秋季刊

15

燃料检测和第三方公证行业的领域者

威力大石油服务公司（VPS） 提供解决方案改进及帮助船 舶运营商达到有效燃油管理 包括燃油成本，运营效率， 和符合各燃料章程的要求。

1981年我们推出世界的第一个对于船舶燃料检测 程序的行业。如今，客户仍然是我们业务的中心和 重点。

威力大石油服务公司

Europe Rotterdam Zwolseweg 1 2994 LB Barendrecht P.O. Box 9515, 3007 AM The Netherlands T + 31 (0) 180 221 100 E rotterdam@v-p-s.com

www.v-p-s.com

我们拥有全球性的技术专家网络和办事处，四个 独资的专业燃料化验室分布于鹿特丹，新加坡，休 斯顿和富查伊拉的战略要地，与接入全球200个 数量公证的网络。

Asia, Middle East & Africa Singapore 27 Changi South Street 1 Singapore 486071 T + 65 6779 2475 E singapore@v-p-s.com

Americas Houston 318 North 16th Street La Porte, Texas 77571 USA T + 1 281 470 1030 E houston@v-p-s.com

人物专访 ■ ■ ■

萧条期间的进一步下挫 尽管承认干散货目前现状低靡，Erasmus Shipinvest公司的John Su依然计划扩增庞大的船队。

J

ohn

Su是干散货运输公司Erasmus Shipinvest的创始人兼CEO，他承认 该行业的近期展望异常黯淡。 “干 散 货运输市场正 经 历过去 30年来的最低潮，不幸的是，世界经济危 机带来的是闲置的运力和疲软的需求展 望，”Su先生补充说： “在短期内很难预见 市场吨位供求关系出现大规模变化。” 多年来Su先生一直在准备应对这种严酷 现实。他现在相信，在需求方面，市场已触 底。 “我们预计海运业大周期中将出现泡 沫崩溃。当散货运输在2010年出现出现昙 花一现的好景之时，人们以为经济危机已 经过去，事实上并非如此。许多船厂自费 造船。我们即将看到私人船厂的大规模破 产”，Su先生预料道。 在大连海事大学毕业后，Su先生作为欧 亚干散货和集装箱运输业的船东、运营者 和投资者拥有近20年的经验。 似乎觉得费率对于干散货船东还不够 低，一泻千里的监管法规将令运输业利润 雪上加霜。

拿马型、卡姆萨型和ultramax型。 “在干散货市场低潮期，我们希望在未 来3年内将船队规模扩大一倍，”Su先生表 示。 Erasmus的大部分船舶都有长期（5-7 年）的期租船租赁合约。 尽管市场低靡，Su先生仍然连续三年盈 利，并且有望顺利实现连续四年盈利。 下一步，Su先生希望从公开资本市场吸 收资金以扩建船队。 “我们已经发现了一系列很有希望的潜 在客户，并希望择机落实，”这位散装船运 企业家总结道。

“现在，船东需要面对日益严苛的法规 环境，这势必增加在如此严峻的市场环境 下运营船只的成本，而且维持可靠且经验 丰富的船员资源并不容易。 不过，Su先生仍然计划增加船队运力。 该公司目前经营10艘散装货船–包括巴

我们预计海运业大周期中将出现泡沫崩溃

Erasmus Shipinvest 于2010年在荷兰建立，在希腊 和中国设有办事处。管理拥有 10艘散装货船的船队，计划在 接下来三年内将船队规模扩大 一倍。

www.splash247.com Splash - for incisive, exclusive maritime news and views 24/7.

Now includes free Splash Jobs recruitment page!

Sinoship 2015年秋季刊

17

■ ■ ■ 专题

仲裁目标 Jason Jiang解读中国复杂的仲裁规则

如

今，仲 裁已成为解决国 际商业纠纷的主要方 法，尤其是在 海事部门 中，而 不 仅仅作为一种

替代机制。 基于联合国《承认和执行外国仲裁裁决 公约》（纽约公约）的国际商事仲裁制度已 演变成高效和有效的法律框架，为解决跨 境纠纷带来极大的便利。 中国是新兴的海上超级大国，正试图加 强在仲裁领域的参与力度。 目前，伦敦、香 港和 纽 约 仍 是 海 事 仲 裁的首选 地点。与伦敦 海事仲裁 员协 会 (LMAA)每年处理的数千例案件相比，中国 海事仲裁委员会(CMAC)每年大约仅处理

18

www.splash247.com

100例案件。 为了实现将上海发展为国际航 运中心 的宏伟目标，中国已经决定改进海事仲裁 部门。 上海政府在8月份表示，其将支持香港 国际仲裁中心(HKIAC)在上海保税区设立 代表处。 青岛和香港还在9月签署了一份谅解备 忘录，拟携手开发海上仲裁平台和其他海 事法律服务平台。 上海大学 法 学院院长沈四宝 表 示： “ 越 来越多的中国企业在开展业务时采用 国际仲 裁 制度，如 果 香 港国际仲裁中心 设在上海，行事会更方便，也将与中国仲 裁 机 构形成 更多竞 争，后者得以不断 学

习和发展。” 中国仲裁法规定，各方在其仲裁协议中 指定一家仲裁机构，而伦敦、香港和纽约 均采用临时仲裁，这种制度更为灵活、高 效，且通常更具成本效益。 这并不意味着中国法院不会强制执行 临时仲裁协议。在实践中，各方可自由将仲 裁地点设在中国境外，以批准临时仲裁， 或者在中国境内仲裁时，选择除中国仲裁 法以外的法律规管其仲裁协议的有效性。 然而，不是所有在中国强制执行的仲裁 协议均受中国法律约束。中国最高人民法 院已通过法律选择规则，允许在许多情况 下在中国强制执行临时仲裁协议。然而， 为了实现这一结果，各方必须认真起草协 议，特别是涉及仲裁地点或适用于仲裁协 议的法律的相关规定。 上海外国语大学海商法研究中心的胡 程志表示： “中国最高法院始终愿意强制 执行要求在中国境外进行临时仲裁的仲裁 协议。随后，法院通过的法律选择规则进 一步增加法院愿意强制执行的临时仲裁协 议范围，只要各方协定非中国法律规管仲 裁协议的有效性或者指定中国法院将强制 执行仲裁协议的中国境外仲裁地点。” 中国是《纽约公约》的缔约国，该公约 支持临时仲裁，因此中国法院有义务强制 执行中国境外裁定的临时裁决。但如果仲 裁地点在中国，这意味着《纽约公约》并不 适用，期望中国法院强制执行临时仲裁裁 决不太可能。 胡表示： “中国法院似乎已经忽略的其 中一个问题是，签订合同时，各方很少会 指定规管仲裁协议的有效性的法律；根据 中国法院的条例，为了方便法院依凭各方 指定的法律，各方必须明确指出其选择规 管仲裁协议的有效性而不是合同实质内容 的法律。” 中国国际贸易促进委员会副会长卢鹏 起表示： “中国不应将临时仲裁机构和常 设仲裁机构之间的区别作为确定仲裁协议 的有效性的法律标准。” 卢总结说： “如果国家继续向市场经济 发展、仍然活跃在全球化进程中并且加强 在全球国际海事仲裁制度中的参与力度， 则全面认可临时仲裁对于中国法律体系至 关重要。”

法律 ■ ■ ■

“船东必须采取积极主动 的措施来保护自己” 其礼律师事务所Leslie Shen提供有关中国扣船条例的重要更新

中

中国政 府最近澄清并协调 其扣船条 例的举动对 海洋 产业的所有参与者而言是意 义重大的进步。 讽刺的是，船东在明朗局势之下要比在 混乱局势下更加小心行事才能保护其资 产。 在3月1日出台的一系列规则中，中国最高 人民法院规定更加清晰一致的中国扣船法 律，更贴近国际公约。虽然其加强对所有 参与者的保护力度，使其免受债务人不当 行为的影响，反之也意味着船东的船舶被 扣押及拍卖的风险更高。 新条例阐明，首次因针对光船租船人提 出的索赔被扣押的船只可根据债权人的 命令拍卖或者出售。此外，拍卖程序已经 简化，以加快船东潜在资产损失的过程。 现在，在第一次拍卖失败的情况下，将在7 天之内公布第二次拍卖，而不是原来的30 天。 此外，虽然从技术层面而言，对于非法 扣船，船东可在两年内（从扣船或拍卖程 序之日起计）提出索赔，但现在有快速行使 其权利的推动力。这是因为如果申请人在 收到申请人通知后30天内未提出非法扣船 索赔，则将退回申请人提供的反担保。 这表示船东面临的风险增加，特别是租 赁融资参与者，因为即使未被提起海事索 赔，仍要遭受资产损失。 船东现在可能同时而不是依次面临多次 扣船。即使船舶已经被扣，另一方也会送 达船舶的第二份扣押令，作为其索赔的抵 押品。此外，第二扣押方有权申请拍卖船 只，且如果第一申请人并未取消扣押，无 需等待之前的扣押取消。 海事法院对扣船申请施加更严格的要

求给了船东一线希望，包括规范索赔人的 反担保。这将有助于防止船东遭遇非法扣 船，尤其在索赔人的反担保量等于扣押期 间损失量的情况下。 一旦由不同的中国海事法院进行自由裁 量，委托管理反担保将是规范程序中大受 欢迎的举动。然而，在实践中，在计算方法 方面仍缺乏指导，这意味着具体做法很可 能仍会因法院而异。 有利于船东的另一有趣的发展是，现在 船只相关的索赔优先于其他海事索赔。 这产生的直接问题就是，基于针对光船承 租人提出的索赔，船东是否会扣押自有船 舶、将其拍卖，随后买回，然后要求分配自 行支付的拍卖收益。我们了解到，在实践

中，一些海事法院已经遇到这种情况。 某些领域的风险加倍而政策透明度不 足，前进的道路明确无疑：船东必须采取 积极主动的措施来保护自己。 他们需要确保有充分的担保到位，以免 卷入扣押程序中，或者如果牵涉其中，光船 租船人有能力及时从船上卸货。 清楚地了解法律也能在发生纠纷时帮助 船东采取措施保护其资产，并将损失降至 最低。遵守不同程序新调整的时间表也必 不可少。 新法律强制执行仅数月之久，观察新条 例对于参与其中的所有利益相关方的影响 还为时尚早。还需加强透明度，但这是朝 着正确方向迈出的一步。 Sinoship 2015年秋季刊

19

■ ■ ■ 港口

北京推进整合， 以应对疲软的数据 紧随中国其他行业领域，港口部门也在被迫整合，Katherine Si报道

航

运 业中各 个

部门都在经 历一个整合 阶段。没有任 何地方的变革像中国一样剧烈 而且庞大，随着大规模兼并的 进行，以及包括强大的中远集 团和中海集团在内的航运公司 之间的联合，造船厂的数量正 在减少。不仅航运业如此。在 中国，主要工业企业都在关注 的问题是，由于北京矢志削减 过剩产能和提高工业效率，可 能强制要求联姻。对于港口行 业也是如此。 既 然国家已经 进 入 称为新 常态的阶段，因此现在需要对 中国海岸线从南到北的港口基 础设施在过去20年中令人难以 置信的积累进行深入调整。经 济增长已不是过去的情况，而 且中国的航运需求正在迅速改

20

www.splash247.com

变，中国港口需要注意这一变 化，并且接受未来几年至多个 位数的增长速度。 国务院 在今 年夏 天 开始启 动对全国庞杂的港口系统的整 合。将在各大港口集中地带，如 渤海湾、长江、北部湾、福建、 珠三角、辽东半岛、苏北和海 南岛，对港口资源进行优化。 在辽宁半岛将涉及丹东、大 连、营口、盘锦和葫芦岛的港口 资产。区域港口资产的优化将 在大连港领导下进行，这是因 为大连港在东北亚国际航运枢 纽资质认定中起过推进作用。 在环 渤 海 地 区将 涉及秦皇 岛、唐山、沧州和天津的港口

资产。 在山东半岛将涵盖山东省内 的多个港口城市，包括滨州、 东营、潍坊、烟台、威海、日照 和青岛。 在 苏 北部 分 将 涉及 连云港 和盐城。 在长江 区域 将 涉及 南通、 上海、浙江省的嘉兴、杭州、绍 兴、宁波、舟山、台州，主要由 上海牵头。 大 连 海事大学 世界经济 研 究所所长刘斌教授对所有这些 变化进行了评论。 “中国众多港 口有可能被整合为多个更大的 港口群，并具 有一定的地域特 征，如长江港口群和环渤海湾

国家已进入一个称为新常态的新 经济阶段

港口群”，他说。 “国内经济的 增 长 步 伐 正 在放缓。港口的吞吐量也将缓 慢减 少。在 未来五年内，大多 数中国港口将面临货物吞吐量 负增长，这应该是推动改革和 整 合 港口资 源 的 一 个充 分 理 由，”刘教授告诉SinoShip。 现在中国正在发生的港口整 合相关变革，曾在更发达经济 体中上演。日本 在过去十年也 在通过组成超级港口以应对吞 吐量的缩减，努力克服相同的 问题，而在欧洲，为了共享资源 并为船舶造访营造更好条件， 将港口联合起来的例子也数不 胜数。 对中国来说，从长远来看， 港口整合对建设成熟经济体必 不可少，然而，在未来几个月， 随着地方王国置于区域性控制 之下，有许多饭碗将被打破。

枢纽：上海 ■ ■ ■

保险新政 Jason Jiang写道，这座城市正在推出多项计划，以图成为重要的航运保险参与者。 中 国 最 大 的港口城市上海今 年正在加大力度促进航运保险 业的发展，落实改进该市所有 航运相关服务的计划。 在 此 领 域 ，上 海 正 引 领 着 除香港之外的其它中国港口城 市。中国（不包括香港）总航运 保险营收在2014年达到了151 亿人民币，其中50 %以上由上 海完成。 自上海自贸区（FTZ）于2013 年成立以来，已经有九家保险 公司在上海建立了航运保险运 营中心，另有两家正在筹建中。 另 一 项 重 要 进 展 则 是，今 年九月份，上海航运保险协会 （SIMI）加入了国际航运保险 协会（IUMI）。 SIMI总裁降彩石表示，加入 IUMI是中国航运保险发展的一 个里程碑，将为上海国际航运 中心的发展以及中央政府“一 带一路”倡议提供支持。 同月，上海市政府与中国船 东互保协会（中国船东保赔协 会）签订了谅解备忘录。 在此谅解备忘录中，双方将 共同推进中国船东保赔协会在 上海的发展，并为专业人才的 培养营造有利的环境。 中国船东保赔协会将在上海 设立新的管理机构，并将按照据 称为国际化的标准开展运营。 上海也一直在鼓励航运保险 行业的改革和创新。据上海保 监局（SIRC）局长裴光所述，该 委员会引入了三项措施，以促 进航运保险业的发展。 第一项措施是允许上海航运 保险协会为会员公司制定试行 保险条例。

第二条是取消保险公司和再 保险公司在自贸区成立分支机 构的审批手续。 第三条是取消保险公司和再 保险公司在自贸区任命高级经 理的审批手续。 裴局长表示， “上海自贸区内 各种改革措施为航运保险市场 营造了协同作用”，并指出在过 去三年内，上海航运保险业取 得的平均增长速度接近20%。 顾伟是 第一家 获准 在 上海 建立航运保险运营中心的外国 企业 AIG 公司运输保险部门 的一位高级经理。他认为目前 在上海启动航运保险业务正当

其时。 顾经理表示，中国航运保险 的法律环境仍待改善。他说， “ 目前，涉及海上货运保险时仅 有两部中国法律可供援引，这 远远不足。”他补充道， “只有 具备了成熟的法律环境、税收 环境以及信息平台，上海的航 运保险才能在国际市场上开展 竞争，在此方面，我认为上海应 当向伦敦学习。” 尽管上海在货物吞吐量上已 经成为了世界最大港口，航运 保险业的增长仍然相对缓慢。 顾经理称， “航运保险行业 存在价格战，中国的航运保险

目前，涉及海上货运保险时仅 有两部中国法律可供援引，这远 远不足

费率仅为国际水平的一半。” 石井诚是东京海上日动火灾 保险（中国）有限公司上海分公 司的总经理。他说，公司希望更 深入地参与中国的航运保险市 场。他希望中国可以进一步开 放保险市场，与国际接轨。 自2011年即纳入规划的上海 保险交易所，预计也将在今年 挂牌成立。该保险交易所的架 构详情尚未公布。但 是，据了 解，保险交易所主要涉及财产 保险、债务保险、航运保险、健 康保险和再保险。交易所成员 将由有特殊保险要求的保险商 和被保险人构成。所提供的服 务包括保险经纪人、保险评估 员和其他保险中间人以及会计 和律师等专业人员服务。交易 所将提供风险证券化产品、灾 难债券和保险衍生品。 Sinoship 2015年秋季刊

21

■ ■ ■ 枢纽：台北

集装箱船规划 Katherine Si确定岛上前三大班轮公司的船队扩建计划

尽管 集 装 箱航运业中有许多 人声称运力过剩依然困扰该行 业，但台湾的班轮公司却在囤 积额外运力。众所周知，台湾的 船东热衷于逆市扩张，但最新 一轮的订单是否不合时宜？岛 上的高级管理人员坚持认为， 时机已经成熟。 长 荣 海 运是台湾 最 大 的班 轮公司，目前拥有近200艘集装 箱船，总运载量达960,000标准 箱。该公司向SinoShip解释道， 其定货簿包括11艘18,000标准 箱的船舶（包租）、10艘14,000 标准箱的船舶（包租）和20 艘 2,800标准箱的船舶（自有），这 些船舶将自2016年至2019年陆 续交付。 2,800标准箱的船舶专门用 于亚洲区域内贸易，首艘船舶 将于2017年下半年交付。亚洲 22

www.splash247.com

区域内贸易仍然是长荣的一个 亮点。 长荣副董 事长谢志坚 表 示， “在区域全面经济 伙伴关 系(RCEP)磋商结束后，东盟国 家、澳大利亚、中国、印度、日 本、韩国和新西兰有望消除贸 易壁垒，加强双边贸易，从而促 进地区货运量增长。我们决定 投资这些新船是为了迎接该自 由贸易发展带来的增长潜力。” 正如投资10,000多标准箱船 舶的决定，长荣引进18,0 0 0标 准箱船舶的投资决定晚于其他 企业，这一决定是迫于亚欧服 务合作伙伴的压力而做出，长 荣是CKYHE海运联盟的成员， 其他成员包括中远集团、川崎

汽船、阳明海运和韩进海运。 闪烁。 阳明海 运也 在忙 着 扩 充自 己的船队。它已与日本今治造 船 及其 姊 妹 船 行 昭荣汽 船 签 订造船和租船合同，引进五艘 14,000标准箱的集装箱船。 这些 船 舶每 艘 造价1. 2 5 亿 美元，将于2018年至2019年交 付，并由阳明海运按照长期租 船协议运营。 阳明海 运目前 拥 有十 艘 14,0 0 0标准箱的船舶，并且已 经在台湾造船公司CSBC订购另 外五艘。 五 月，阳 明 海 运 放 弃 建 造 18 , 0 0 0至2 0 , 0 0 0 标准 箱集 装 箱 船 的 计 划，将 重 点 转 移 到

最新一轮的订单是否不合时宜？

14,000标准箱的设计。 相比之下，万海航运目前的 船队扩建计划较为保守。万海 始终是集装箱航运业中财务表 现最为稳定的航运公司之一， 目前管理着95艘船舶，运载量 达218,000标准箱。 “考虑到市场前景黯淡，以 及深海贸易领域的大型船舶带 来的极端运力过剩，我们手上 目前没有任何新造船订单。但 是，我们也买进了几艘二手船， 以满足我们的部署需求。”发言 人Davis Kao告诉SinoShip。 “由于我们的 重 点仍 然 是 亚洲区域内贸易航线，目前我 们还不太可能购置大型集装箱 船。”Kao继续说道。万海在最 近几个月削减其在主要东西方 贸易中的业务，集中精力发展其 专长——亚洲区域内贸易。

枢纽：香港 ■ ■ ■

由于船籍注册打破了 里程碑，本地船东要求 服务升级

Sam Chambers赞赏香港船舶登记处通过一亿注册总吨位关口，同时也强调了需要改进的方面 香 港 已 成 为世界上仅有的四 个突 破 一 亿 总 吨位 水平 的 注 册 地 之一。香 港 船 舶 登 记 处 （H K S R）的于九 月底突 破了 一亿注册总吨位，共计2449艘 船，香港海事处于昨日发布这 一公告。 H K S R 成 立于19 9 0 年1 2月 3日，当 时 的 总 吨 位 为 6百 万 吨。HKSR在1997年香港回归中 国前后陷入不景气，但自那时 起一直在稳步发展。 本地船东在对这一标志性事 件表示欢迎的同时向SinoShip 透露，海事处需要增加员工数 量并提高服务质量，才能面对 船舶注册巨头维持竞争力。 三年前在香港海域造成39人 丧生的渡轮Lamma Iv号沉没事

件引致的持续案件庭审一度令 该登记处陷入困境。该案件累 及许多登记处雇员和关键船籍 注册人员，使他们无法继续在 该处工作。 工作人员人数并不总是适应 船籍注册惊人的快速增长，这 个问题的一部分原因是由于从 登记处产生的资金进入了一个 中央政府基金，并在整个特别 行政区内进行分配，而不是将 其反哺船籍登记处。

在九月份由我们的姊妹刊物 Maritime CEO 举办的船东午餐 会上，有人提出让香港登记处 运作更加商业化，让该处成为 实际上独立于海事处的机构。 人们反复强调香港登记处应将 在马绍尔群岛运营的世界上第 三大船籍注册机构International Registries, Inc.作为提高服务质 量的学习榜样。 “为了与其他商业注册机构 竞夺船舶注册业务，船舶登记

为了与其他商业注册机构竞夺 船舶注册业务，船舶登记处必须 在服务水平和全时段接待方面形 成竞争力

处必须在服务水平和全时段接 待方面形成竞争力”，一名领头 船东评论道。 “香港船舶登记处缺乏商业 意识，不主动与业界交流，从而 无法如我们所希望的那样发展 和进步”，这是 一名顶级船务 管理人的观点。 此外，另一名资深船东还提 到了他对于登记处人力资源问 题的顾虑。他宣称， “我们感到 曾经在其员工中代表着中坚力 量的成熟而富有经验的船长和 轮机工程师在流失”。 近来当地船东协会已经与海 事处和政府就改进该登记处的 方式进行了多次对话，随着船舶 登记超过一亿总吨位，政府有望 将这些建议纳入讨论范围。 Sinoship 2015年秋季刊

23

■ ■ ■ 书籍

处理公共关系的关键 Paul French谈如何进行危机处理

尽 管 采 取 了各种预防措施， 许多公司仍然时常遭受灾难性 的打击。去年发生的各式事件， 即使不是完全没有可能作出预 案，也难以料及。马来西亚航空 公司的空难和近期天津厂区发 生的爆炸事件就是例子。同样， 从受污染食品到员工的不合理 待遇等各个方面，报纸对该地区 存在的公共关系问题进行了铺 天盖地的报道。处理类似事件、 保护公司诚信和品牌忠诚度，以 及应对法律挑战是企业规划的 重要组成部分。有几本新书着眼 亚洲，探讨了公共关系的处理问 题，启人深思。 David Wolf是一名资深的 24

www.splash247.com

企 业 问 题 处 理 专 家 。他 是 Allison+Partners全球中国业务驻 北京的执行董事。他的新书《公 共关系在中国：如何在中国建立 并维护品牌形象》，是实用性强 的帕尔格雷夫口袋顾问系列丛 书中最新的一册。Wolf认为中国 带来的巨大市场充满了激烈的竞 争，表现出很低的品牌忠诚度， 有效处理好公共关系是企业成 功的关键。但是他也指出，很少

有公司能掌握正确处理公共关 系的方法，而那些能有效处理 公共关系的公司，已经从这个全 球最大的市场中获得了专营事 业蓬勃发展的回报。然而，目睹 了最近中国发生的企业丑闻和 灾难，Wolf认为， 在这个时候， 在中国从事公共关系工作，有 必要摒弃传统上将公关作为企 业宣传工具的立场，让公关成为 本应担当的战略职能，引导企业

处理负面事件、保护公司诚信 和品牌忠诚度，以及应对法律挑 战是企业规划的重要组成部分

行为，而非仅仅充当企业传播部 门。阅读其有关在中国成功公关 的著作就是一个不错的开始。 现代数字科 技在应对灾 难 和 公 关 危 机中发 挥 着重 要 作 用。Mark Sheehan和Deirdre QuinnAllan编辑的集著《数字世界中 的危机传播》，探讨了在当今以 社交媒体为主要沟通方式的社 会里，公关专业人士所面临的挑 战。该书通过研究如何应对全球 媒体周期律和社交媒体行动主 义等新现象，列举了大量危机实 例，如媒体灾难、自然灾害及名 人危机等。 很多时候，似乎如果企业能条 理分明地迅速将信息传达出去， 就可以化解公关危机。但是， 并不是每一家公司都有足够的 资金来聘请大型公关公司。Alex Singleton 的《公关大师：如何制 定可行的公关策略》对于需要在 有限预算范围内制定预案的人非 常值得推荐。该书简单易读，介 绍了在各种预算条件下都可以采 用的实用、可靠而成功的媒体策 略。非常适用于中小企业。 灾难确实会发生——企业 也的确会犯错误，但有些时候， 是媒体或政府决定将矛头对准 企业或产品。就像童子军的警言 所说的，要“时刻准备着”。如果 能对情况有所掌控，损失就会大 大降低。以上书籍或许可以帮助 许多公司从现在开始制定出必 将成为在亚洲乃至全世界业务 经营标准的守则。

意见 ■ ■ ■

固步自封的态度 及其后果 Andrew Craig-Bennett 在这里关注的是，究竟何人 应该为那些运送镍矿石时死难的船员负责

管理 上有一句行话，用“固步 自封”形容有人在工作中如此 地闭塞，以至于不知道他们的 同事在做什么。 亚 洲文化一向强调 对 权 威 的顺从而非质疑，所以亚洲企 业更易有这种“固步自封的心 态”，他们经常不了解，或者说 不关心和他们在一个办公室里 的人究竟在做什么。 这个故事讲的就是一些人对 其从事的行业— —商业海运 业——是多么的无知和漠不 关心。 不久前一批装载着镍精矿的 船只会时不时地失事的事件， 就应验了这种心态。 这 是 一 批 新 货 物。运 送 镍 矿并不是什么新鲜事，很多年 来，为压缩体 积，镍 矿都会被 融成锭块，方便从像新喀里多 尼亚岛的首都努美阿这样的地 方运出来。

随 着中国 工业 生 产力的 增 长，镍的需求量与日俱增，也随 之发现了新的货源地。在印度尼 西亚和菲律宾均可开采镍矿石。 新的矿场建了起来，但正如经常 发生的那样，无论是矿井还是输 出矿石的设备都极其简陋。 矿场并没有将镍矿石融成锭 块发运，而是直接将矿石精炼 成镍粉，用灵便型散装货船运出 去。然后中国买下了这些货物， 双方皆大欢喜。这种情况一直持 续，直到时常有船无法到港。 当船在海上失事后，人们经 常会发现船和货物都上了保险。 关注保险的人注意到那些失事 的镍矿运输船，往往都是在东南 亚的不知名港口装的货。便随即 追问成因。他们询问了专家。于 是专家告诉他们，热带地区的小 矿场不具备条件将他们堆积起 来的镍矿粉的湿度控制好便于 装船，这是因为东南亚会下雨。

专家说 这些 镍 粉由于 超 过 了国 际 海 事 组 织 规 定 的 运 输 时的湿度上限，所以运输过程 中 会 呈 浆 液 状 。这个 数 字 是 I M O 制定 的 海上安 全 承 载 散 装矿物的最大湿度数值，但如 果超过这个数字，镍粉就会突 然呈现出液态特征。 这 样 一 来，广 大 保 险 从 业 者，尤其是船东互保协会，都决 定要做点事情，因为沉船事件 和海员遇难都是麻烦事，而且 代价高昂。 事实上，西英格兰船东互保 协 会随即签发了一项通告，令 所有的船东成员在装运镍矿粉 前都要派合格的验船师进行检 查，确保安全。 所以，租船者也在租船合同 中加入了散运镍矿的条款。 那写的是“装运货物时需要 经过合格验船师的检查”吗？ 不是的。那写的是： “船只将

不受西英格兰船东互保协会承 保。” 当船东的寻租部门读到这个 条款时，就告诉了他们的保险 部门不要再在西英格兰船东互 保协会投保了。 由于寻租部门比保险部门权 利更大，所以很多轻率的傻瓜 们竟然点头认可了，导致了更多 船只失事，海员遇难。 这 就是 最 近 五年 在 亚洲的 船运公司内部真正发生过的故 事，这些工作人员懒到不想去 分析问题，愚蠢至极，既害怕他 们的老板又极其贪婪。 该问题目前稍有缓解，因为 印度尼西亚政府认为出口镍块 比镍粉对本国更有利。 这并不是陈年旧事。就是近 几年的事情。当事者还没有被 开除。至今仍领着薪水。 我认为他们早该被开除了。 你觉得呢？ Sinoship 2015年秋季刊

25