Page 6: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (July 1998)

International

Representatives

EDITOR'S NOTE

Getting Creative T here is little doubt that the process of building and maintaining a fleet gets more and more com- plicated and capital-intensive with each passing year. Perhaps it can best be cat- egorized as keeping up with overall business trends, but the maritime indus- try is in the grips of a very fundamental change concerning the way in which business is run.

Everything from the manner in which ships are financed to the way they are outfitted is continually changing.

Phrases such as "high-yield bonds," "stock floats," and "double listings" were once foreign to an industry which was largely built on a "your handshake is as good as your signature" mentality.

And while there has been a recent shake-out of these new types of deals, most analysts agree that a quality shipowners' fleet finance options will continue to expand. "As the current growth of bond issues increases, so too does the possibility of failures," said Captain John Dalby of

Marine Risk Management, speaking at a ship finance conference held recently in New York City. "Unscrupulous and desperate owners are particular risks."

Central to this industry metamor- phosis is the continuing trend toward consolidation. Simply put, many own- ers have found that bigger is indeed bet- ter, and hardly a day now passes without news of another small owner being con- sumed for someone's greater corporate good.

While many may choose to lament the current tide of change, it is — in a broader perspective — simply following a natural course of progression in which "only the strong survive."

Energy spent fighting the trend might be more wisely utilized to investigate ways in which your company can be reposi- tioned and/or strategically aligned to be more profitable than ever.

Those who believe that the consoli- dation trend is a passing fad should heed the words of Barton Jones, part- ner, Winthrop, Stimson, Putnam and

Roberts. Mr. Jones, speaking at the same ship finance conference said: "I think the high level of mergers and acquisitions will continue." Central to his reasoning is the increasingly global nature of business, as well as the fact that larger organizations can get "cheap- er money," i.e. exert more leverage to negotiate more favorable financing terms. In turn, a savings of, for exam- ple, a few percentage points can have a dramatic effect on a company's return on equity.

In the end analysis, improved access to cash in a business which demands so much of it will be central to long-term survival. As shipowners are continually challenged by new rules and regulations — ISM being a prime example — and improved competition, the need to for- mulate and successfully execute a well- thought out business and investment strategy will only grow in importance.

INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS

CHARLES E. KEIL, Vice President 4400 N. Federal Highway, Ste. 210-06, Boca Raton, FL 33431

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

Australia

ANNE MURRAY/YVONNE SANDFORD

World Media Network Pty. Ltd.

Suite 5, Level 1,89 York St., Sydney, NSW 2000

Australia

Tel: +61 2 9299 5677; Fax: +61 2 9299 6178

Argentina

R. LESLIE RAMSAY

Calle Pellegrini 173

Primer Piso, Departamento 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: +31 172 230708

Brazil

JOSE DUARTE DOS SANTOS

Multipla Agencial Martima, Ltda.

Rua Carolino Rodrigues 28

Cuorto Andar, CEP-11055-070

Santos, Sao Paulo, Brazil

Tel/Fax: +55 1 32 32 74 74

Central America

EDUAROO F. LOPEZ/LUIS A. SANCLEMENTE

Transmarine Media Service, P.O. Box 2071,

Panama 1, Panama

Tel: +507 264 8404/60; Fax: +507 223 8367

China

WANGZE/XU XIAO FENG

Liaoning Foreign Trade Advertising Corp. 2 Zhongshan Square, Dalian, China 116002

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

Eastern Europe

IVAN BERENYI/OLGAIVANOVA

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 325705

France

DANIEL SOLNICA

Ediconsult Internazionale, 25 rue Saulnier 75009 Paris, France

Tel: +33 1 4246 9571; Fax: +33 1 4246 8508

Germany/Switzerland

HANSJORG BRANS

Maritime Media

Freiherr v. Stein Str. 24, D-63303

Dreieich, Germany

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

Hong Kong/Taiwan

DENNIS LO/JIMME KWAN

Phantom International, Ltd.

Room 208, Seaview Centre 139 Hoi Bun Rd.,

Kowloon East, Hong Kong

Tel: +852 9179 9872; Fax: +852 2304 1232

Italy/Malta

VITT0RI0 NEGRONE

Ediconsult Internazionale

Piazza Fontane Morose, 3-16123 Genoa, Italy

Tel: +39 10 583684; Fax: +39 10566578

Japan

AKIOISHII

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

Adachi-ku, Tokyo 121, Japan

Tel: +81 3 5691 3335; Fax: + 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

Peru

WILLIAM FRY

Trahites y Despachos S.A.

Avenida Saloverry 3005, Lima 27, Peru

Tel: +51 1 264 3225; Fax: +51 1 264 1974

Portugal/Gibraltar

PAULO BREHM

AZ Publiciadode Lda., Rua Almirante Barroso, 52-1 D, P-1000 Lisbon, Portugal

Tel:+351 1 3142256; Fax:+351 1 3525157

Scandinavia

STEPHAN R.G. ORN/LEON SCHULZ

AB Stephan R.G. Orn, Box 184

S-271 24 Ystad, Sweden

Tel: +46 411-184 00; Fax: +46 411 105 31

Singapore

CATHERINE WONG

The Euro-Asia Link, 391 A Orchard Road #12-01

Ngee Ann City Tower A, Singapore 238873

Tel: +65 337 4658; Fax: +65 456 4610

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

South America/

Caribbean Basin

DELIO R.AL0NS0

Multilink International 115 Calabria Ave., Ste. 12

Coral Gables, Flo. 33134

Tel: +305-445-6423; Fax: +305-445-1483

Spain

JOSE LUIS SEVA

Via Exdusiuas S.L.

Modesto Lafuente, 4 28010, Madrid, Spain

Tel: +34 91 448 7622; Fax: +34 91 446 0198

Turkey/Cyprus

NIHAT BOYTUZUN/LALE ASMAZ0GLU

Kamera Corp., Cumhurlyet Cad. 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 1444 417360;

Fax: +44 1444 410497

Maritime Reporter/Engineering News