because I said so

We all have Contracts, Charter parties, or Bills of lading as part of what we do, and they all have the dreaded fine print associated with them. Most times these lines lie dormant and untouched in dusty drawers but unfortunately there are times when the smooth execution of trade hits a rogue wave. Then with great haste they are placed under the microscope as various parties seek to justify their own actions, or to get others to do as they would wish.  A corporations sense of entitlement seems to usually be in proportion to their size and worth, favours and cooperation given previously to them are forgotten, and any reaction from a supplier other than complete capitulation is deemed wholly unreasonable.

Thanks for reading , writing this has been therauptic.

Communicating, an imperfect art

In 2013 we have more access to information than at any time in the history of the human race , yet it
increasingly seems we don't or can't manage to deal with it, we hear "I'm catching up on emails" all too
frequently these days.  It seems we have grasped the opportunity to tell people things with perhaps a tad
too much gusto, we see so much that we really don't need to, so many things that we're copied in on
just in case are of little importance.  In todays corporate world everyone is so risk averse and keen to
make sure that everyone knows everything, every email seems to have a huge CC list and with
everyone wanting to reply to all our cloud storage bulges with messages with 5 page "tails".
We try to be proactive and message people giving them what we know they'll want, only then
receive a phone asking for something already in their inbox, its frustrating as hell and makes one want
to send nothing till someone asks. Yeah right, that'll happen :)

It's 2013

So it's Monday morning, the 7th of January , for many people the first day back at work for the new year. Daybooks are full of crisp new sheets on which to jot notes trades, and hopefully, fixtures...
2013 also ushers in a new set of worldscale schedule rates, the average is 9.4% increase over last year, it'll be interesting to see how quickly freight levels drop to discount these.....
Here in the St Lawrence we have had cold last couple of weeks ....... ice is formed all the way through the system into Montreal, we have had vessels moving at 4kts taking weather head on to avoid icing
it's like a real winter again.

Seasons change

So as we can see from our window, winter is here again.... it's not cold but the water temperatures 

are steadily dropping, the channel markers are out, and in 11 days the seaway season will be over.

This year has been quiet, this was perhaps not so surprising but it was frustrating too, opportunity was 

there but somehow it was really hard to convert it into dollars..... we are left with the feeling that we worked twice as hard for the same results as managed in 2011..

It's time to reflect and strategise and then come back renewed in 2013, lets hope the Snake is kinder to us than the Dragon. Correctness be damned, happy Christmas to all ;)      

"but there's always a ship............."

The subject line above is a cry if not often heard, certainly a mantra many in this business believe.  Montreal is, regardless of what the weather statistics indicate, in the middle of winter, a season not universally beloved of shipowners.  Yes folks it gets cold, sometimes very cold, things freeze, machinery becomes more fragile, and the simple business of getting around just becomes more fraught and difficult.
The just-in-time wizards of supply chain fame however often don't seem to realise these simple facts and sometimes pay scant regard to the month number on the calendar....
Pre-emptive planning is key, but unfashionable, right now we could be fixing some high paying business we have quite a list of things that could be done and soon too, but unfortunately right now that old shippage adage with which we started this post does not ring true....

p.s. if you happen to have a chemical tanker within a week of Montreal please call !