Maritime CEO: A Push Towards Traditional Shipowning?

“At the end of May we met up with, Michael Tusiani, the chairman of US brokers Poten & Partners, for what turned into a fascinating interview on his take on shipping cycles. “Shipowning today is a far cry from when Tusiani started out in the business. ‘The advent of public money and other sources of capital such as private equity and hedge funds have changed the landscape because of the effective separation of the ownership of physical assets from their day-to-day operations.’ “The primary focus of these public shipping companies, he reckons, is to demonstrate quarterly growth. “’As there is a greater pressure to produce quicker returns, operational integrity could be potentially compromised,’ the Poten boss warned. “However, Tusiani does not believe that this new shipping structure — where ownership is separated from commercial and technical management – will last for a long time. ‘As soon as there is a major problem, charterers will not stand for them,’ he predicted. “‘Is shipowning set to come full circle with owners reverting to type and being more in control of all operations, Tusiani suggested?’ That was the question we posed to many top owners for this issue’s Executive Debate.”