2008-09-01 00:00 来源: 作者:罗伯特·赖特(Robert Wright) 网友评论 0 条 浏览次数 492
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私有的TMT从未公布过财务数据,掌门人Su去年秋天才第一次接受媒体采访
全球航运繁荣期的船公司因为近年来航运业前所未有的繁荣,商机像海上的波涛一样滚滚而来,船公司的神秘故事比任何时候都栩栩如生。
但是,曾经叱咤风云的希腊船王们必须改变,否则要么消亡、要么衰败。希腊最大的家族船东集团之一——查科斯集团就意识到了公开上市对船公司的意义。
而盛极一时的亚洲航运巨头长荣海运和东方海外均采取了特别谨慎的商业战略,虽然保险,但这使得它们的排名有所下降。与此同时,迅速崛起的新一代航运公司,跃过增长缓慢的昔日船公司老大,它们的标识在大海上闪出耀眼的光芒。这些公司中有保持北欧海盗风格、喜欢冒险的地中海双子星——达飞轮船和地中海航运公司,也有高深莫测、把现代金融手段使用得淋漓尽致的中国台湾TMT公司。
谁将称雄海上霸王?毋庸置疑,新生代绝对是不可忽视的力量。
私有的TMT从未公布过财务数据,掌门人Su去年秋天才第一次接受媒体采访
中国台湾的Nobu Su在船运界的任何时期都会是位杰出人物。他看上去十分谦逊,而一位对手对他的描述是“酷爱冒险”。
作为波动较大、相对新生的运费期货市场上一名熟练的玩家,Su还使自己的公司TMT成为一家油轮及干散货船的主要运营商。2002年父亲去世后他接管了TMT,此后仅仅6年时间就取得了上述成就。TMT原名台湾海运公司(Taiwan Maritime Transportation),现在被重新命名为Today Makes Tomorrow。
“他前途远大。”一位船舶经纪人这样描述这位全球大船东。而在5年前,人们对他基本上还一无所知。
含糊其辞
目前,大多数船运公司正变得越来越透明,运作与普通公司更为相近,在这个时代,现年49岁的Su更显得与众不同。
私有的TMT从未公布过财务数据。Su去年秋天才第一次接受媒体采访,他对TMT运营的船只数量也含糊其辞。
“数字总是在起起伏伏,大概在90至150艘之间。”他表示,“有记得有人说是130艘。”
不过,Su之所以成为国际船运界最具争议的人物,是TMT的船队和该公司买卖基于未来航运成本的金融产品行为之间的瓜葛。
该公司许多竞争对手认为,TMT努力将船舶租赁费率向着其在远期运费协议(FFA,英文Forward Freight Agreement的简称)市场上高风险大额押注的方向推动,而该公司实物船舶的交易策略一定程度上受到这种努力的左右。竞争对手声称,当TMT押注FFA价格下降时,往往会提供低于市场价格的租船费率。而当TMT押注FFA价格上涨时,又会撤离市场——从而降低运力,推高价格。
这种行为算不上不道德,但远远超出了大多数航运公司利用纸货市场(属于衍生品市场,作用是提供一个避险的场所)来对冲市场风险的有限范围。
Su有意淡化TMT在纸货市场上的角色,只是表示它是“一个重要参与者”。然而,与该公司有关联的人士曾声称,TMT在全球FFA交易总量中占30%的份额。
Su表示,交易商试图将他们的交易伪装成TMT的交易。“人们常常使用我的名字。”他表示,“我有点像是替罪羊。在我看来,一家公司不可能左右一个如此庞大的市场。”
传统方式起步
TMT当初以相当传统的方式起步。Su的父亲起初经营废旧金属业务,他在1958年订购了一艘名为“台蕉”(Taiwan Banana)的新船,由此投身当时台湾日益兴旺的香蕉出口贸易。后来公司扩展到其他领域——该公司一度拥有全球10%的运送造纸木屑船只。
Su从家族公司做起,之后离开,在水泥行业干了15年。他在父亲去世后才重返家族企业,并立刻着手进行大规模变革,订购了10艘干散货船。
“我们认为在中国加入世贸组织(WTO)后,整个世界都会变化。”他表示,“但我们是一家规模很小的公司,因此我们必须成长壮大。”
随后,公司在2003年订购了装载汽车的滚装船;2004年订购了超大型油轮(VLCC);2005年订购好望角型散货船(最大型)(Capesize bulk carrier),而2006年订购了一艘液化天然气船(LNGC)。
TMT公司目前直接拥有60艘船只,有90艘订购的船只尚未交货,并租用不定数量的其他船只。
“大部分情况下,时机的选择总是正确的。”Su如此评论公司的投资。
Su表示,公司2004年年底开始涉足FFA市场,此前经常有经纪商给他打电话,指出交易机会。
但他表示,像竞争对手声称他所做的那样,将船只搁置或接受低于市场水平的租价,以配合公司在FFA市场上的押注,成本非常高昂。他强调,对TMT来说,实货船运市场也要比FFA市场的交易更为重要。
他承认,公司船运活动与其在期货市场上的头寸之间存在联系。但他坚称,自己不过是比多数交易商更了解市场状况,因为他与船队的客户合作紧密。
“我们有非常优秀的客户,与他们建立了良好的关系。”他表示。
“我们必须了解他们的需求——可能是这一点赋予我们对市场更好的洞察力。”
在了解船运市场费率背后复杂驱动机制的情况下,此类详细情报能起到至关重要的作用。
管婧 译
世界著名的航运公司
马士基(Maersk)
马士基集团成立于1904年,总部设在丹麦哥本哈根,在全球100多个国家设有数百间办事机构,雇员逾六万多名,服务遍及世界各地。除航运业外,集团多元化的业务范围广及物流,石油及天然气之勘探和生产,造船业和航空业等范围。马士基海陆,作为集团的集装箱海运分支,是全球最大的集装箱承运人。
地中海航运公司(MSC)
地中海航运公司总部位于瑞士日内瓦。于1970年建立,2007年成为按照集装箱运力和集装箱船数量排序的世界第二大航运公司,业务网络遍布世界各地。上世纪70年代,地中海航运公司专注发展非洲及地中海之间的航运服务。至1985年,地中海航运拓展业务到欧洲,及后更开办大西洋航线。
达飞轮船(CMA CGM)
总部设在法国马赛的达飞轮船始建于1978年,是全球航运界的后起之秀。经营初期主要承接黑海地区业务,进入上世纪90年代后期,达飞轮船不仅开通了地中海至北欧、红海、东南亚、东亚的直达航线,还分别于1996年、1999年成功收购了法国最大的国营船公司——法国国家航运公司(CGM)和澳大利亚国家航运公司(ANL),正式更名为“CMA CGM ”。
商船三井(MOL)
根据资料记载,商船三井在中国有130年的船运经验。追溯至1878年,蒸汽船 "秀吉丸" 从日本九州的三池运送煤炭到中国来。自19世纪以来,商船三井积极地参与经营中国与日本之间的客运及货运业务。商船三井(中国)有限公司成立于1995年,随着成都办事处的设立,商船三井在中国已拥有24家分公司及办事处。
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- posted on 07/09/2010
自告奋勇要到墨西哥湾协助清除油污的台湾海陆运输公司(TMT)在台湾海运界算比较特殊,根据交通部资料,该公司原名信荣航运,船只都挂外国旗,在台湾未上市、上柜。
台湾中华海运研究协会秘书长杨仲筂说,台湾海陆运输早年是台湾海运公司,现任董事苏信吉在日本长大,从父亲苏清云手中接下船公司,经营策略和父亲大不同。他认为船舶只是商品,如何利用船舶买卖及租赁获利才重要,所以海运界关心的吨位税及三通,苏信吉一点都不在乎。
杨仲筂说,苏信吉操作船舶市场很厉害,市场上曾传出多年前他对散装船的运价能够「呼风唤雨」。苏信吉投资过各种船,近年还在韩国造了天然气LNG船,而苏信吉在日本也投资造船厂及保险业。苏信吉非常低调,从不出席海运界的新春团拜,很多海运界人士也没见过他。
- posted on 07/09/2010
Nobu Su was watching the Gulf of Mexico oil spill unfold from half a world away in Taiwan when he had a "lightbulb moment." Why not convert a supertanker to suck up oily seawater, siphon off the oil and dispense the cleansed water back into the Gulf?
The Associated Press
A shipping mogul with a 10-figure net worth, Nobu Su of Taiwan spent millions of dollars to convert the "A Whale" tanker into the world's largest skimming vessel, with no guarantees it would function properly or ever be used in the Gulf.
The idea is one of more than 100,000 proposed spill solutions to pour in to BP from around the globe. But Su's brainstorm is one of the few being tested, and there are a billion reasons why.
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A shipping mogul with a 10-figure net worth, Su spent millions of dollars to convert the "A Whale" tanker into the world's largest skimming vessel, with no guarantees it would function properly or ever be used in the Gulf.
"A lot of people have floated ideas for cleaning up the oil, but Mr. Su had the resources and determination to follow through on his," said Bob Grantham, a spokesman for Su's firm, TMT Shipping Offshore.
Grantham said a test conducted near BP's gushing well last weekend was "inconclusive" because 6-foot waves limited the flow into the six intake vents cut into either side of the massive ship's bow.
He said steel plates are being fabricated to improve the flow and additional tests are expected in the coming days.
"They're still going at it full speed," Grantham said, noting that Su was on board the vessel during the two-day test. "This is a learning process."
A reclusive businessman
It's also a huge gamble for a reclusive yet daring businessman who has "an enormous appetite for risk," according to a 2008 profile of Su in the Financial Times.
Su, chief executive officer and majority owner of Taiwan-based TMT, sent the new $160 million tanker from China to be retrofitted in Portugal shortly after the April 20 explosion on the Deepwater Horizon rig triggered his "lightbulb moment," Su's advisers said.
When the vessel and its 32-member crew arrived at Boothville on June 30, Su still lacked a Coast Guard commitment to test the vessel.
The Associated Press
A test conducted near BP's gushing well in the Gulf last weekend was 'inconclusive' because 6-foot waves limited the flow into the six intake vents cut into either side of the massive ship's bow.
Su had hired the high-powered Bracewell & Giuliani law firm, which lists former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani as a partner, to negotiate with federal regulators and launch a media blitz, drumming up public support to keep A Whale from being beached in a tangle of red tape.
The strategy paid off with a nationwide wave of favorable news reports and an agreement with the Coast Guard and Environmental Protection Agency to test the vessel's effectiveness.
The publicity has raised expectations for an oil cleanup strategy that has never been tried on such a large scale.
Ship is 10 stories tall
Grantham has said the massive vessel, which is 10 stories tall and more than three football fields long, can process 21 million gallons of oily water a day. That rivals the 28 million gallons processed in two and a half months by 500 smaller skimmers, many of them converted fishing boats.
Dennis Bryant, a former Coast Guard officer who runs a maritime consulting firm in Florida, had expressed skepticism about TMT's bold predictions even before last weekend's complications.
Noting that the Gulf spill is dispersed in a slick extending hundreds of square miles, Bryant said A Whale would likely be more effective with thicker concentrations of oil, such as during the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska.
"I don't want to discourage innovation, but I don't see this ship as a very efficient way to tackle this particular spill," he said.
Grantham predicted the modifications will ensure the vessel plays "an important role in the spill response." However, he said Bryant's assessment of A Whale's strengths and weaknesses is "probably close to correct."
"It's a very large vessel, and it needs large amounts of oil to be most effective," Grantham said.
An intensely private man, Su, 51, has declined all interview requests, Grantham said.
'Like a lawn mower cutting grass'
During brief remarks June 25 after the vessel arrived in Norfolk, Va., Su said A Whale would cruise the Gulf and suck up oil "like a lawn mower cutting the grass."
Su, whose father founded TMT in 1958, took over the company after his father's death in 2002.
Su rapidly expanded the company and became a successful player in the high-stakes market for freight futures, essentially betting on large fluctuations in seasonal shipping rates.
The global recession has been tough on the shipping industry. Fuel was seized from TMT oil tankers in Rotterdam and Delaware in October to settle claims the company had missed rental payments, according to Bloomberg News.
Bryant questioned whether TMT was having trouble lining up work for A Whale when Su dispatched it to the Gulf. "If it's making a profit, why would you take it out of service?" he said.
But Grantham said the vessel had seen steady use since TMT took delivery of it in January.He said such vessels command daily rates of $35,000 to $200,000, depending on the season and economic conditions.
Su has said he will triple his bet by developing plans to convert two more tankers -- "B Whale" and "C Whale" -- into giant skimmers. If the A Whale tests are successful, BP or the federal government could contract with TMT to start skimming in the Gulf.
Noting that the Liberian-flagged vessel would likely be deployed near the leaking well 50 miles offshore, Grantham said it would not be subject to the 1920 Jones Act, a protectionist law barring foreign-flagged boats from working within 3 miles of the U.S. coast.
Siphoning off the oil
A more serious obstacle is an EPA requirement that the discharged water be virtually oil free.
After water flows through the ship's vents, it is pumped into a series of tanks, where oil rises to the top. The oil is then siphoned off and the water is pumped back into the Gulf.
Grantham said TMT would either seek an exemption from the discharge regulation or pump the water onto barges and treat it on shore.
Ed Overton, a professor emeritus of environmental sciences at Louisiana State University, was flown by TMT to inspect the mega-skimmer while it was in Norfolk.
"I'm certain it can be improved," Overton said Wednesday. "It was all done so quickly that no one expected the first shot to be perfect."
Overton said he met Su briefly in Norfolk. "He's very proud of what he's done and he should be proud," Overton said. "He's someone who stood up and tried to do something for us. If it doesn't work, we're not out any money."
Grantham said TMT has spent "tens of millions of dollars" on the project, which he linked to TMT's emphasis on environmentally safe shipping practices.
He said A Whale, which hauled oil and iron ore before its conversion, is equipped with both forward and aft thrusters to enhance maneuverability and minimize the risk of a spill-causing collision.
Su recently changed TMT's name from Taiwan Maritime Transportation to Today Makes Tomorrow, a move intended to convey the image of a cutting-edge, future-oriented company.
But spill-weary Gulf Coast residents are desperate for help today. And Bryant said Su's idea may have arrived on the scene a bit ahead of its time.
"There's a lot of frustration with the cleanup efforts," he said. "I honestly hope I'm wrong, but I don't think this is going to be the silver bullet."
Paul Rioux can be reached at prioux@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3785.
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