BOW WAVE 171

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Wavy Line	sam@wavyline.com
(c)2003 WavyLine.com	Issue No 171 03 Mar 03
Published free of charge to Readers
Editor: Sam Ignarski
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In this issue:

1. Welcome
2. Short Lives
3. Zurich Pensions Slideshow
4. Guest Column--Cruising on a Container Ship
5. Asia Transport
6. And Finally...

1. Welcome

This week's edition brings to an end a sad week in the life of your editor caused by the death of younger sister Tina Ignarski on Monday 27th February 2003.

New Readers this week include:

Capt M Grimes, hull and cargo surveyor in Djen Djen, Algeria Linda Veitenhaus
Kevin Griffin, MD of the Cruise People

A rather general edition this week owing to your editor's absence from office and market duties. But in difficult days work can be a welcome distraction.

Enjoy.

2. Short Lives

Your editor's recent Quarterpoints column in Lloyd's List dwelt on the issue of untimely death and its effects on survivors.

Final Accounts

I can do little more justice to Leigh Smith and his memory in these pages than has already been done by his former colleagues. It was during Leigh’s time as the editor of Lloyd’s List that I began to appear as a Quarterpoints columnist. He was to me a good, non-interventionist editor who nevertheless made it clear what he wanted to see: clear practical prose about the industry and not too many generalities. I send my sympathies to Mrs Smith and her young family as they make their way through this dark valley into a new life. I wish it were not so.

I have only known one other man very well who died in such an untimely way in his fourth decade, quite unexpectedly, to the grief and almost outrage of those who were close to him in one way or another. He also died following a knee operation. It made quite a mark even on those who merely worked with him in an office in the City of London. A decade and more later, I can still be moved to tears when I think of him and his death because he represented a better way of thinking and dealing with the world which raised the spirits of people around him and brought out many of their better features . He had quite a talent for it.

Although all deaths seem pointless and the cause of endless grief and pain to those most closely related with the deceased, they also force us to think. What in the incident packed life of shipping, insurance or finance which we lead is really important? If like Leigh Smith we go early, what will we have neglected, postponed or overplayed until it was too late? How many days away from home and the family are sensible in a working year? How excusable is it to neglect our friendships because of work pressures? How much should we tolerate in our working lives that is disagreeable, unpleasant, undignified and unworthy of us as individuals? How much of our better selves have we shown to the world and how much have we helped to shape our part of the world for the better? What is the ideal we should follow in walks of life which are directly concerned with money, results and worldly achievements?

The truth is that although in the areas covered by Lloyd’s List it is often difficult to point to lasting physical memorials to the work we do--unless we happen to own ships-- it is not difficult to see the difference people make to us in tragic circumstances. After we die, survivors describe the way stations we passed, the things we made and the better parts of our judgment at critical points. Sentiment also lingers over the lives of the most dynamic of us as to how the future will now be altered as a result of our deaths. Certainly men of calibre like Leigh build up a formidable list of expectations in the minds of those around them. In that they take their roles as son, husband, father, colleague, boss and friend seriously they produce a feeling in the people around them that they will help master the turbulence of today and the future and deliver something which will be acceptable. The especially favoured few who are identified with a coming wave may in dying be the unwitting pretext for unexpected longevity of the old.

An untimely death also sometimes helps to bring the survivors back to a greater sense of proportion. Death, when it does not lead to a souring, bitter aftermath can lead paradoxically to a burying of hatchets. Enmities of many year’s standing can be dissolved using the very sensible and common realisation that life is too short for some kinds of fighting and the consolations of affinity, friendship or at least genuine cordiality over the distance should be valued for the treasures they are.

So there is little better the friends, colleagues and readers of Leigh Smith can do than to recoil from the awful suddenness of his death and perhaps to search for a better kind of day to day life, to carry out our tasks and to advance in ways which do not disgrace us and which may leave the better part of ourselves behind should we also meet our makers soon. For some this comes in the form of religious faith, for others in a sense of rededication to the causes they serve. What do we remember in the end of the back stabbers, the ruthless bullies and the soul destroyers? When it is over, what really matters?

Si monumentum requiris, circumspice

3. Zurich Pensions Slideshow

Reader Geoff Hunt passed on this reference to a website run by Mr Simon Kirby. It is in essence a letter of complaint to the Zurich Insurance Pensions people but presented as a sarcastic powerpoint slide show.

This looks something like a new form of satire. Have any Readers seen anything like it?

http://www.badpension.com/

4. Guest Column--Cruising on a Container Ship

Kevin Griffin, who works as a specialist cruise agent was prompted by an item in last week's Bow Wave to send in this review of a journey he took.

On a late summer evening in July, we boarded one of CMA CGM The French Line's pair of round-the-world ships, the CMA CGM UTRILLO, which was delivered together with the CMA CGM MATISSE by the China Shipbuilding Corporation in Taiwan in 1999. This pair was joined by two more sister ships, the CMA CGM LA TOUR and CMA CGM MANET, owned by CMA CGM (UK) Ltd, in 2001, and are based on the same design as the ships already engaged on this run and chartered from B Rickmers of Hamburg. This service is known, naturally, as the "Tour du Monde."

Four similar ships are now being built at the same shipyard for the French Antilles service to Martinique and Guadeloupe.
The CMA CGM UTRILLO and her sisters are 30,500 deadweight vessels, capable of carrying up to 2,205 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent units), many of which are plug-in reefer units for the New Zealand lamb trade and the Austral fruit trades. Each ship carries six passengers in one twin-bedded carpeted owners cabin and two double-bedded cabins, and features a passenger lounge, indoor swimming pool, exercise room/library and of course a "French restaurant." The extensive library is rather interesting as the books have come from many earlier ships of the combined fleets of the Compagnie Générale Maritime and Messageries Maritimes, but the vast majority are in French, so if you are not bilingual, remember to bring your own reading material. Passengers are also allowed onto the bridge when the ship is not manoeuvering in or out of port.

The cabins are large, at about 240 square feet each, and have a separate sitting area, but not a separate day room, as on some ships. They face either forward or aft and the view can be obstructed by container stow. While the owners cabin is carpeted, the double cabin is not, but it is equipped with sofa, coffee table, chair and desk and quite a large wc and shower. The facts that there are no separate day rooms, and that the view might be obstructed, are reflected in the fares. The two French vessels are staffed with French officers and a French chef, and Romanian junior officers and crew, and passengers have the run of the ship, from bow to stern. The two UK-owned ships are registered in the Bahamas and have an International crew, but not a swimming pool as on the French-flag units. The forecastle area is a great place to spend the days and is accessible by walkways under the container load on each side of the ship. There are also cushioned lounge chairs for use around the accommodation areas aft.

The round-the-world itinerary for these ships takes 84 days. Embarkation is at several European ports including La Spezia, London (Tilbury), Hamburg, Rotterdam and Le Havre. From Europe, the ships cross the Atlantic to New York, Norfolk and Savannah, then through the Panama Canal to Papeete (Tahiti), Auckland, Noumea (New Caledonia), Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Fremantle in Australia. After completing loading in Australia, the ships return to Europe via Singapore, Jeddah, Damietta, Malta and La Spezia, an 84-day round voyage at a cost of Euros 7,775 (about £5,175) per person in a double occupancy cabin.

We saw lots of other shipping on our short voyage. Not long after sailing from Tilbury in the early morning we passed the inbound Safmarine container ship SA SEDERBURG, which was to occupy the berth we had just vacated. The SEDERBURG carries twelve passengers on a run to Cape Town, Port Elizabeth and Durban. We then spent the day crossing the North Sea, and navigating the New Waterway to Rotterdam, where we berthed at ECT (European Container Terminals). The opposite berth was occupied by P&O Nedlloyd's PALLISER BAY, another ship that carried passengers until she was sold for scrap last year. The German-owned P&O NEDLLOYD HUNTER BAY has since replaced her in a new 70-day Round-the-World service which calls at many of the same ports. From Rotterdam, we then proceeded at top speed to Dunkirk, a call that has since been dropped. On the way to Dunkirk, we passed one of Grimaldi’s Euromed ships,
the 12-passenger GRANDE MEDITERRANEO, on her way from Scandinavia and Antwerp to Southampton and another 36-day round voyage, which includes a multitude of Mediterranean ports of call. At Dunkirk, we berthed not far from the ferry terminal, and further up the harbour was berthed yet another passenger-carrying cargo ship, Egon Oldendorff's REGINA OLDENDORFF, a 28,000 deadweight bulk carrier, which was soon to leave on a voyage to the Great Lakes. Finally, while we were berthing in Le Havre, Grimaldi's 12-passenger REPUBBLICA DI AMALFI passed us on her outbound voyage for Southampton, a half dozen Brazilian ports including Rio and Santos, and Buenos Aires. Grimaldi ships, like CMA CGM's, include wine with meals.

Breakfast on the Tour du Monde ships is taken in
the passenger lounge, and includes coffee, tea,
croissants, breads, cereals and juices. The passenger lounge is equipped with a refrigerator, as well as a giant television screen and plenty of games for
passenger amusement. The ship carries thirty-six
films in French, some of the titles of which
include Basketball Diaries, Mad Max, Michael Collins, Nikita, Sliver and Wayne's World. The main meals, lunch and dinner, are taken in the restaurant together with the officers, followed by coffee served back in the passenger lounge. The food is excellently prepared and served by a unformed steward, and comes with table wines, including one amusingly called "Paquebot Blanc, " from the cellars of CGM. Typical menus from our European port rotation follow.

Lunch

Concombres à la crème
Médaillon de canard au Porto
Blanquette de veau
Riz pilaf
Plateau de fromages
Corbeille de fruits

Dinner

Soupe composée
Gigot d'agneau rôti
Flageolets à la Bretonne
Plateau de fromages
Corbeille de fruits

***
A sampling of photos taken by photographer Susan Schulman on a voyage she made with the French Asia Line can be found at

http://www.overboost.co.uk/photography/cargocomplete

***

CMA CGM Tour du Monde bookings are in very high demand and must be made well in advance. Bookings are now being accepted well into 2005. One-way and part voyages may also be booked. Since last year, a 56-day round voyage has also been available on the French Asia Line between Southampton, Hong Kong and Chinese ports, with fares from Euros 4,310 (about £2,875), or on the 63-day North China Express, which includes Malaysia and South Korea, from Euros 5,900 (about £3,935).

The Cruise People Ltd, London (www.cruisepeople.co.uk) are appointed passenger agents for CMA CGM The French Line and now have more than 400 passenger-carrying cargo ships in their inventory.

Tel:+44 (0)20 7723 2450,
fax:+44 (0)20 7723 2486
e-mail:people.co.uk.

5. Asia Transport

The container industry analyst Charles De Trenck of Salomon Smith Barney HK has recently sent us his thoughts on the sector:

We believe the non-airline transport sector has outperformed owing to investors fleeing tech, pushing some counters close to highs since late 90's in some cases.

Tradeflow summary charts: Cargo growth may slow in 2003 -- after a bumper 1Q03

Valuations: We like kicking tires and going for what we can see, but there are plenty of contradictions (expensive stocks may do better but 4Q02 may have been catch up for ‘cheap’ {not really ‘high beta’} stocks)

Which are our favorite companies? Wan Hai, CP Ships, Teekay, COSCO Pacific. (The same as 2H02 except that some offer less value now, such as COSCO Pacific; Yangming made it to the favorites in December, but came off in January after rising too far too fast) . Also NOL as break-up story at right price.
Why do we like them? Transparency (a relative concept for different markets) and better business models for most part

Where are valuations now? Transport ran hard all 2002 in many markets. We believe it’s been looking toppy relative to past cycles

Contact him at:

charles.detrenck@ssmb.com

6. And Finally.....

Many thanks to CTC Legalist Gordon Elliot for these:

THE YEAR'S BEST [ACTUAL] HEADLINES OF 2002

Something Went Wrong in Jet Crash, Expert Says

Police Begin Campaign to Run Down Jaywalkers

Iraqi Head Seeks Arms

Is There a Ring of Debris around Uranus?

Prostitutes Appeal to Pope

Panda Mating Fails; Veterinarian Takes Over

Teacher Strikes Idle Kids

Miners Refuse to Work after Death

Crack Found on Governor's Daughter

Juvenile Court to Try Shooting Defendant

War Dims Hope for Peace

If Strike Isn't Settled Quickly, It May Last Awhile

Cold Wave Linked to Temperatures

Enfield (London) Couple Slain; Police Suspect Homicide

Red Tape Holds Up New Bridges

Typhoon Rips Through Cemetery; Hundreds Dead

Man Struck By Lightning Faces Battery Charge

New Study of Obesity Looks for Larger Test Group

Astronaut Takes Blame for Gas in Spacecraft

Kids Make Nutritious Snacks

Chef Throws His Heart into Helping Feed Needy

Local High School Dropouts Cut in Half

Hospitals are Sued by 7 Foot Doctors

PS from Jeff Blum

For those of us getting along in years, here is a little secret for building your arm and shoulder muscles. You might want to adopt this regimen!

Three days a week works well. Begin by standing outside behind the house, with a 5-LB. potato sack in each hand, extend your arms straight out from your sides and hold them there as long as you can, if you can reach a full minute, relax.

After a few weeks, move up to 10-LB. potato sacks and then 50-LB. potato sacks, and finally get to where you can lift a 100 lb. potato sack in each hand and hold your arms straight for more than a full minute.

Next, start putting a couple of potatoes in each of the sacks, but be careful not to overdo it at this level.

BOW WAVE is published each week to around 7550 Readers in the transport,insurance,shipping and finance industries.

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