Page 6: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (December 1998)

International

Representatives

EDITOR'S NOTE

Plotting The Course For 2000 T he maritime industry has always provided fertile grounds for the breed- ing of a good suspense — whether it be of the political, financial or nationalistic pride variety — and the past year proved to be no excep- tion. Coming into 1998, most attention was squarely focused on the "clock ticking" toward July 1 and the implementation of the ISM Code. Gloom and doom sayers had a field day, predicting dire consequences regarding the ability of the world fleet to effectively acquire the necessary stamp of approval, and forecasting the literal stop- page of international trade. July 1 came and went, much like any other day of the 24 hour variety, and on July 2 the world was still spinning.

The ongoing sagas regarding subsidies, "price dumping" and excess building capacity remain just that...ongoing sagas. While it has become abundantly clear that the U.S. is in no hurry to ratify the

OECD agreement regarding the elimination of shipbuilding subsidies, it has left the EU and the indi- vidual European countries in a quandary regarding the support to their shipyards. The mantra of unfair competition and "price dumping" has grown louder and more frequent, as more and more orders fall into the hands of Asian yards. China has now fortified its position among the world's mos prolific ship- builders, taking the number three slot in terms of tonnage built behind Japan and Korea. While the continuing financial crisis will surely shake-out some of the corporate weaklings, it has become clear that the balance of new ship orders is not about to shift from the Far East anytime soon.

Thus, yards with addresses outside of Japan and Korea will continue to focus on the high-value and niche vessel segments. The formation and operation of the Aker Group of shipyards, under the direc- tion of Otto Soberg, and the expansion of Halter Marine Group in the U.S. under the direction of John

Dane III, could be considered blueprints for shipyard operations of the future: a grouping large enough to withstand the financial rigors inherent in the market, yet small enough to be responsive, flexible and capable of responding to a diversity of market demands with a high degree of excellence.

What's Next?

It seems a necessary exercise to conjure a "deadline" upon which to focus attention, and the coming year provides the mother of all deadlines in the form of January 1, 2000 and the inevitable Y2K prob- lem. Companies worldwide are in top gear to ensure that there is no catastrophic shutdown at the stroke of midnight on December 31,1999. While it can be reasonably assured that there will be a num- ber of problems — given the sheer size and inter-dependancy of the international maritime market — it is similarly reasonable to assume that the shipping industry will weather the storm relatively well.

The upside of Y2K is the strong focus on technology: revealing how automated the "conservative" maritime market has become, and additionally, how many more levels of automation can be achieved.

The "high-tech" side of the maritime market will be a recurring theme in MR/EN throughout 1999 (starting with an in-depth Y2K assessment feature in January) with many articles and sections dedicat- ed to exploring the way in which companies — vessel builders, owner/operators and marine equipment suppliers — are integrating advanced solutions to save time and create new efficiencies and profit opportunities.

Coming Up In MR/EN in 1999

February 1999 April 1999

Cruise Ship Yearbook International Offshore Annual

Nav/Comm Electronics Selection Guide World Ship Repair Atlas & Directory

Country Focus: Norway World Regional Report: Middle East

March 1999 May 1999

World Ship Repair Technology Guide Nor-Shipping '99

Guide to Satellite Communications Fuels, Lubricants, Additives & Filters Review

Country Focus: Spain Country Focuses: Finland & Canada

IHTERNATIONAL 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 SANDF0RD

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, Ltdo.

Rua Carolino Rodrigues 28

Cuarto Andar, CEP-11055-070

Santos, Sao Paulo, Brazil

Tel/Fax: +55 1 32 32 74 74

Central America

EDUARD0 F. LOPEZ/LUIS A. SANCLEMENTE

Transmarine Media Service, P.O. Box 2071,

Panama 1, Panama

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China

WANG ZE/XU XIAO FENG

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

Eastern Europe

IVAN BERENY1/0LGAIVAN0VA

Pannonia Media Agency, 8630 Balatonboglar

Radnoti Miklos u.14, Hungary

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

Egypt

CAPTAIN TARIQM. 0SMAN

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 S0LNICA

Ediconsult Internazionale, 25 rue Saulnier 75009 Paris, France

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

Germany/Switzerland

HANSJ0RG BRANS

Maritime Media

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Dreieich, Germany

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

Hong Kong/Taiwan

DENNIS L0/JIMME KWAN

Phantom International, Ltd.

Room 208, Seaview Centre 139 Hoi Bun Rd.,

Kowloon East, Hong Kong

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

Italy/Malta

VITT0RI0 NEGRONE

Ediconsult Internazionale

Piazza Fontane Morose, 3-16123 Genoa, Italy

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Japan

AKI0ISHII

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

Adachi-ku, Tokyo 121, Japan

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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 Salaverry 3005, Lima 27, Peru

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

Portugal/Gibraltar

PAULO BREHM

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

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

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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, 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. ALONSO

Multilink International 115 Calabria Ave., Ste. 12

Coral Gables, Fla. 33134

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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

NIHAT BOYTUZUN

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;

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