John N. Faraclas
The BDI (Baltic Dry Index) lost 13 points earlier today and now stands at 1,730 points ending the surge(?) a correction or a pre-festive stagnation; the New Yea will tell… On the Geopolitical front things continue its steady course for the forthcoming Armageddon in all fronts. John Faraclas’ mid-week recap:
The Volatile Capes lost 82 points and the BCI now reads 4,211- caution should be observed as you never ever know… We are not prophets of the gloom, but ultra realists with a proven truck record!
The Panamaxes on a “steady” upwards mode gained 46 points – yesterday it was 48 plus, with the BPI now standing at 1,718 points… Hopes for improvement are though contained…
Same levels for the Supras who clinched just one point with the BSI now at 943…
No change for the Handies’ BHSI stuck at 633 points with many questions…
The Wets remained on the same more or less levels; the last published BDTI (Dirties) and BCTI (Cleans) stood at 812 – minus two and 686 – plus two points respectively…
A bit of good news as the WTI fell a bit and as these lines are being written it stands at US$ 56.67 – interesting fall and let’s see the positive consequences…
The S and P market as well as that of acquisitions of entire fleets continues to be very interesting – the question though being how many can afford such moves and obviously those already in the calculated waiting game “field” when will they “surface” and make the big leap forward… We reiterate the view taht Shipping 1,000 centum becomes shipping for the very very very few. Very soon the Market Indices will not have any value whatsoever… nor any significance so to speak… Add the technological changes and then you can see who can afford to be in Shipping. Ah! And what about the geopolitical inferno coming up, eh…!
Geopolitics indeed dictate the Transport sector and how the intermodal chain will be governed – very soon, by different entities, say for example cargo owners or producers… who might follow the example of the then seven sisters of oil and order their own ships bringing chaos in the markets…
MIGRANTS still remains the number one topic! We are waiting the end of hostilities in Syria and Iraq and more importantly we await to see the end of the …day there for ISIS… What happens though with ISIS fighters returning to their “bases” – particularly in EU countries and how the authorities and the security services there treat them, it remains to be seen and yet it is another …story. As we have said it is a MUST to see ISIS’ suppliers severely punished after naming and shaming them! Given the Jerusalem issue things might also trigger mess. CAUTION and we observe careful and ultra “surgical” actions…
The entire Middle East and beyond is on fire and that includes five of Planet Ocean’s dire straits: Bosporus, Gibraltar, Malacca, Oman, and Suez. Never forget our warning for the area under severe caution from Gibraltar to Afghanistan and from the Caucuses to the Horn of Africa.
BREXIT makes waves but with many Twists and Turns…
We will analyse all these events and situations hopefully in our forthcoming recap this Friday.
Theodora Tyrovola delivering her paper
On another tone the end of the very successful and timely two-day event of HMIT (Hellenic Institute of Maritime Technology) at the Evgenidion Foundation’s main Auditorium excellently performed by KEFI SA., will be not just the talk of the town down-town Akti Miaouli but all over Planet Ocean’s maritime centers! We will report separately on this exceptional which, not only worked as a catalyst in boosting blue growth and its major component – that of the marine technology factor, but brought into light many important issues during the presentations and Q&A time! We should all contribute in the build up for next year’s event as things move fast in a very changing maritime environment
l to r: Demitris Mathaiou, Dionissis Chatzidakis, Vicky Andrikopoulou and Maria Michalopoulou
Moreover at the Flisvos Cultural Centre in Falifornia…err Paleon Faliron, one of Ancient Athens’ oldest suburbs, the CEO of Arcadia Shipmanagement, Aegean Bulk’s and president of the Green Award Foundation Demitris Mathaiou presented his paper on “Tourism, Shipping and the Environment” – another timely event from a Master Mariner with many accolades. Rt.Radm (HN) Dionissis Chatzidakis, the Mayor of Paleon Faliron, spoke too offering also food for thought in the presence of many members of Greece’s shipping cluster. Many congratulations to Maria Michalopoulou – the head of P. Faliron’s Tourism Committee, who greatly assisted in organising the event – she also delivered the speech on behalf of Demitris Mathaiou who due to a phonetic issue made only the general introduction/preamble of his paper. Vicky Andrikopoulou, the deputy mayor and responsible for the Environment introduced the event. If the HIMT event was a timely one as mentioned above, this one was more than anything your logic and also your imagination can get, “coinciding” with the aftermath of the tanker “Agia Zoni II” pollution disaster just three months ago. You all have seen the efforts and promptness Mayor Chatzidakis used in tackling the spill with his ship-shape tactics. Will revert with an update later on before midnight!
Wish you have a nice evening and be on guard for Pirates and Terrorists looming in the background wherever you are on Planet Ocean.
