Page 6: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (March 2000)

International Representatives Editor's Note

If asked to assess the level of international, national and local regulation ruling its daily operations and bottom line, most in the marine industry would undoubtedly respond "intense."

If you concur, then you're in for some bad news.

The scrutiny of maritime matters by lawmakers near and far is at a fever pitch worldwide. While pressure and visibility of the industry is always high in the wake of severe casualties, there is a perceivable difference in the tone of political and special interest group saber rattling.

Real changes — "OPA 90-esque" changes — are close at hand.

Central to the current push — as discussed in these pages many times before, and

I'm sure many times again — is the break-up and sinking of the tanker Erika off the

French coast in December 1999. At press time, leaders from the European Union were scheduled to meet in Brussels to discuss sweeping changes which could significantly impact the way in which ships are designed, built, equipped and operated. Inter- tanko's Dagfinn Lunde, a much respected figure in maritime matters around the world, shares his opinions on the quickly evolving topic in an opinion piece on page 80 of this edition.

The "Erika effect" has already caused a jump in chartering rates, as many oil majors are opting for newer tonnage to carry their products.

While Erika has been the primary headline-grabber, it alone is not the reason for concern. The cruise market, which has sustained an incredible success run dating back to the early 1990s, is facing many serious issues as well. The handling of these issues will help to determine the course of the industry for the next decade.

Several high-profile mechanical failures on Carnival cruise ships is just a small piece of the emerging puzzle, but its dimension should not be understated. When there is a mechanical failure on any other type of ship it goes largely unnoticed by the general public — unless of course it results in an accident. But when the lives and vacations of 2,000+ people are affected, it tends to make its way quickly to the 11 o'clock news. These incidents have not, by any means, destroyed public confidence in the cruise lines. But it is starting to erode at the industry's image, which has careful- ly and successfully been crafted over the past decade. Fixing public perception, though, is perhaps the least of the cruise lines' worries in the coming months, as they have proven time and again to be particularly adept at marketing their valued services.

More pressing — for cruise shipping companies in particular but the maritime realm in general — is the increased attention to environmental matters. As the new emission standards in regard to diesel propulsion will attest, the focus on ships' effects on the ocean and surrounding coastal lands is growing daily. At press time the U.S.

Environmental Protection Agency has cited six cruise lines for high emission levels in

Alaskan waters, and questions regarding ship size and their effects on the environment is grabbing attention in the key Caribbean region. These are matters that cannot be ignored and will not simply be swept away in time.

INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS

CHARLES E. KEIL, Vice President 4400 N. Federal Highway, Sle. 121, Boca Raton, FL 33431

Telephone: +561-368-1021; Fax: +561-368-1161 24-hr Tel/Fax: +561-998-0313; Mobile Tel: +561-716-0338

Tony Stein, International Sales Manager 12, Braehead, Bo'ness, West Lothian EH51 0BZ, Scotland, U.K.

Telephone: +44 (0) 1506 822240; Fax: +44 (0) 1506 828085

Australia/New Zealand

Tony Stein 12, Braehead, Bo'ness, West Lothian EH51 0BZ, Scotland, U.K.

Telephone: +44(0) 1506822240;

Fax: +44(0) 1506 828085

Argentina

R. LESLIE RAMSAY

Colle Pellegrini 173

Primer Piso, Departomento C 1009 Buenos Aires, Argentina

Tel:+54 1 394 8821; Fax:+54 1 326 4377

Benelux

PAULA TACQ

Maritime Media ML

Otweg 18 2771 VX Boskoop, Netherlands

Te:+31 172 230707; Fax:+31 172230708

Brazil

JOSE DUARTE DOS SANTOS

Multipla Agenciol Martima, Ltda.

Rua Carolino Rodrigues 28

Cuorto Andor, CEP-11055-070

Santos, Sao Paulo, Brazil

Tel/Fax: +55 1 32327474

Central America

E0UAR00 F. LOPEZ/ISELA BAZAN

Transmarine Media Services, P.O. Box 8579,

Balboa Ave., Panama 5, Panama

Tel:+507 617 1469; Fax:+507 251 4794

China

WANG ZE/XU XIAO FENG liaoning Foreign Trade Advertising Carp. 2 Zhongshan Square, Dalian, China 116002

Tel: +86 411 2801924; Fax: +86 411 2644606

Eastern Europe

IVAN BERENYI/OLGAIVAN0VA

Pannonia Media Agency, 8630 Balatonboglar

Radnoti Miklos u.14, Hungary

Tel:+36 85 353 319; Fax:+36 85 353 442

Egypt

CAPTAIN TARIQ M. OSMAN

Osman Marine Media Co.

Algamhoria St., P.O. Box 1248, Alkleej Bldg.,

Port Said, Egypt

Tel:+20 66 340988; Fax:+20 66 325706

Germany/Switzerland

HANSJ0RG BRANS

Maritime Media

Freiherrv.SteinStr.24, D-63303

Dreieich, Germany

Tel: +49 6103 697745; Fax: +49 6103 697743

Italy

VITT0RI0 NEGR0NE

Ediconsult Internazionale

Piazza Fontane Marose, 3-16123 Genoa, Italy

Tel: +390 10 583684; Fax: +390 10566578

Japan

AKI0ISHII

Ace Media Service Inc. 12-6,4-chome, Nishiike

Adachi-ku, Tokyo 121, Japan

Tel:+81 3 5691 3335; Fox:+ 81 3 5691 3336

Korea

JO, YOUNG SANG

Business Communications, Inc.

Kwangwhamun P.O. Box 1916, Seoul, Korea

Tel:+82 2 739 7840; Fax:+82 2 732 3662

Portugal/Gibraltar

PAULO BREHM

AZ Publiciadade Lda., Rua Almirante Barroso, 52-1 0, P-1000 Lisbon, Portugal

Tel:+351 21 3142256; Fax: +351 21 3525157

Scandinavia

STEPHAN R.G. 0RN/LE0N SCHULZ

AB Stephan R.G. Orn, Box 184

S-271 24 Ystad, Sweden

Tel: +46 411-184 00; Fax: +46 411 10531

Singapore

CATHERINE WONG

The Euro-Asia Link, 20 Maxwell Rood 07-18A

Maxwell House, Singapore 069113

Tel:+65 3231025

Fox:+65 3237026,+65 4564610,

South Africa

FINN KVAMSDAHL

Finn's Enterprises, Media Marketing Division

P.O. Box 99,2250,

Blinkpan, Republic of South Africa

Tel/Fax: +27 13 2953 023

Spain

JOSE LUIS SEVA

Via Exdusiuas S.L

C/Viriato, 69SC 28010, Madrid, Spain

Tel:+34 91 448 76 22; Fax:+34 91 4460214

Turkey

NIHAT B0YTUZUN

Kamera Corp., Cumhurlyet Cod. 257/3,

Harblye 80230, Istanbul, Turkey

Tel:+90 212 248 48 64;

Fax:+90 212 230 36 97

United Kingdom

MICHAEL J. DAMSELL

Euromedia Ltd., P.O. Box 122,

Hayward's Heath,West Sussex

RH161YF, England

Tel: +44 1444417360;

Fax:+44 1444 410497

Don't think about know-how, choose it.

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AU

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