ABSTRACT
Now it is time to examine the economic mechanisms which control the shipping cycles discussed in the previous chapter. Shipowners have two jobs. One is to operate ships, a worthy task but not one that brings riches. The other is to be in the right place at the right time, to rake in the money at the peak of a cycle. Each twist of the cycle confronts shipping investors with a new opportunity or threat. In the space of a few months a shipowner’s cashflow can swell from a trickle to a flood, and the market value of his fleet can change by millions of dollars. This is how the market manages investment in a difficult and uncertain world, and it presents shipping company management with quite a challenge.
