breakbulk americas 2016 EVENT COVERAGE
BREAKBULK AMERICAS 2016 PHOTOS
trust, and finding carriers who are going to be honest with you about their situation and their ability to perform.”
VETTING FOR CARRIERS
The concept of a vetting system for ocean carriers as well as their ships was also mooted, but support for the idea among the panel was underwhelming. While opaque ownership structures make it difficult to adequately assess carrier risk, Susan Oatway, Drewry associate, warned that vetting of carriers as well as ships could lead to a two-tier system. Thomas Damsgaard, president of Vimar Global and maritime arbitrator, said that the project cargo industry could learn much from the bunker industry when it comes to financially stress testing companies. “In our segment, you’ve got to dig into the financials. A financial statement from a company could very well be the financial statement for the management or the agency company and doesn’t say anything about the 80 ships they can shut down the moment they have an oil spill or something happens to the ship,” Damsgaard said. Dennis Devlin, senior director and head of business development, North America global Projects/Oil & Gas, DB Schenker, pointed out that those carriers
that are willing to share their financial information are generally those that are more solid anyway. The panel also noted that more liabilities and risk were being passed through the project cargo supply chain, but not everyone was happy with the additional responsibilities. Sune Thorleifsson, head of projects, SAL Heavy Lift, agreed that if it’s within what the carrier does and the cargo is on its vessels, the risk should be with the carrier. But when there is a delay or postponement in the supply chain that has a knock-on effect at the port, the carrier will find it difficult to mitigate the risk of postponement. Mottola said that risk in any contract belongs with the party that can best control or manage that risk. “Carriers should accept a little more responsibility for our cargo and our equipment because it is within their care. We do the best we can upfront to make the right decisions but at some point we lose control, so there has to be some ownership to who has got the ball.” Mottola agreed that there are some challenges with knock-on delays, but this needs to be accepted within the normal ebb and flow of the market. “Sometimes you get the bear and sometimes the bear gets you,” he said. BB
CASH READY TO BE SPENT ON US OIL & GAS
TOP TO BOTTOM: Panelists lobby for the
U.S. Export-Import Bank; consultant Jennifer Ledet leads a micro-seminar; Drewry’s Susan Oatway gives a fleet outlook; armadillo races were a highlight of the closing party; Alain Holtappels of UTC Overseas discusses an Amazon project move.
64 BREAKBULK MAGAZINE www.breakbulk.com
Family-owned businesses in the U.S. that have been sitting on cash and riding out the downturn are showing an interest in domestic oil and gas related investments, according to the nation’s largest and oldest private bank. Max Schlubach, vice president of commodities and logistics at Brown Brothers Harriman & Co, told attendees of Breakbulk Americas in Houston that those businesses were looking at investments in a range of oil and gas related assets. Over the past three to four months, companies that have been “hoarding cash” were “coming out of the woodwork,” confirmed Schlubach. “In the middle market we’ve
had a surge of these family-owned businesses who have access to capital interested in infrastructure, pipelines, tank space, terminal facilities and ship docking facilities,” he said. Schlubach added that there was particular interest in ship docking facilities in the U.S. Gulf. However, he did not expect that heightened interest to translate into actual investment until after the U.S. presidential election in November. “It’s just wait and see until after the election in November – I don’t think anything will happen until then. I would have a hard time seeing a surge preelection because the tax implications are so vastly different depending which way we go,” he said. BB ISSUE 5 / 2016