‘Decisions - Your Ruin or Your Prosperity? - ’

                   By Anastasios Maraslis

                        President/Director

　

Running a shipping company is difficult, especially in times of crisis.

Shipping can be very profitable. However, the business is cyclical, with periodic overcapacity, where the freight rates competition is cutting throat.

Over the long term, many companies cover their cost of capital but hardly earn a profit.

Our deep understanding of Shipping business, allows us to work collaboratively to achieve success and transfer knowledge on a wide variety of large, complex performance improvement initiatives.

In the next 8-10 years emerging economies will contribute an outsized share of the world GDP growth.

Although we will continue to see economic turbulences, overall the global economy is expected to expand at a 3.6 percent annual rate over the longer term, resulting in world GDP swelling to $90 trillion by 2020. That is 40 percent larger than it is today.

Have you planned for these developments ahead?

Straregic alliances is required now more than ever before!

　

S.T.I.C - COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES

- Here, at S.T.I.C we understand the unique environment of shipping industry
  and its cyclicality.

- S.T.I.C is the optimum choice for clients seeking to achieve results, why we
  enable this success of organizational transformation through collaboration
- by working side by side with our clients - sharing accountability, transferring
  knowledge, ‘tangible’ information and helping transform the culture to
  embrace and sustain lasting change by diagnosing and eliminating weaknesses
  and non productive ‘working habits’.

-A critical part of enhancing the planning process of our clientele is improving
 their overall decision-making capabilities. Left unchecked, subconscious biases
 such as excessive optimism ('dictated' mainly by false unchecked data/info, or
 even influenced by so called 'authorities' and self imposing ‘big names’ - )
 which usually, if not always, undermine a manager’s routine or strategic
 decision-making capabilities.

-We, at S.T.I.C provide our exclusive or semi exclusive clientele with a decision
 making analysis and a perspective on - and a way to mitigate the impact of -
 the biases that are often inherent in our clients’ decision - making processes.

-S.T.I.C’s information harvesting is resulted directly from the shipping ‘battlefield’ through daily hard work and high standards technology applied by our dedicated company’s executives in market analysis and strategic planning.

S.T.I.C's crew is sailing towards new horizons by making new alliances, adding value to its clientele and shaping the future TODAY!

Sincerely yours,

S.T.I.C
Anastasios Maraslis
President/Director.

SHIPOWNERS TRUST INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION

                              S.T.I.C

                       Shipping & Trading

SHIP OPERATION/CHARTERING /S&P / TRADING.

S.T.I.C BUILDING - 3, VOUDOURI STR.,- PIRAEUS 185 37 -GREECE.

+30 210 4529500 (TEL), +30 210 4529505 (FAX) 30 6943 108283 MOBILE/Mrs.
+Sapfo. / 30 6945 590744 MOBILE/Capt.Andreas/ MSN:
+Capt.Andreas_S.T.I.C@hotmail.com
MSN/ sapfo_m@hotmail.gr /MSN/ Mrs. Sapfo Maraslis s.t.i.c.chartering-operations (SKYPE) www.eshipownerstrust.com

chartering@eshipownerstrust.com (Chartering Dept.)

Operations@eshipownerstrust.com (Operations Dept.)

Dry@eshipownerstrust.com (S&P/TRADING Dept.)

info@eshipownerstrust.com (General/Admin.Dept.)

'CRISIS OR OPPORTUNITY?' - A QUESTION SHAPING YOUR FUTURE.

Dear friends,colleagues and associates ,

RE: 'CRISIS OR OPPORTUNITY?' - A QUESTION SHAPING YOUR FUTURE.

You are also, most possibly, experiencing these days the world wide economic depression, the oversupply of tonnage and the prevailing soft, even poor, freight/hire rates in the Dry Bulk markets and I truly understand you.

This unfortunate, strenuous business environment is beyond your control and there are not many things someone could do to change the market’s downturn course, until ‘the shipping cycle’ is completed.

Although shipping crisis is the common denominator which suppresses, almost all, Shipping companies survival, there are certain actions which when followed and implemented you can be differentiated and compete successfully, where others fail, until the freight market recovers.

In 1997 (the year S.T.I.C was established), a similar soft rates period was hitting the dry bulk cargo vessels, once again.

That shipping crisis was faced by many with introversion, skepticism, despair even, but for others it was clearly an opportunity!

You could also SHIFT YOUR VIEWPOINT TODAY and focus in exploring the opportunities available or creating new ones!

You could easily decide what could be an opportunity or how to take advantage of new ideas -by answering few questions- after that you could plan the course of action which when implemented your vessels will become more competitive in this changing business environment.

In periods of crisis it is not the ‘strongest’ or the ‘bigger’ who survives but the fittest, the one who lasts longer!

If you are, also interested, in receiving our free of charge, easy to apply - Newsletters and Articles - information on ‘ORGANIZE - BATTLE & WIN’, 'PRODUCE AT MINIMUM EXPENSE’, with specific how to advices and technology, just avail few minutes of your time to help us understand in which category we should enlist your e mail address for sending you the right information for YOU.

You see, there are certain factors which differentiate YOUR Company’s needs and goals from another’s:

Please advise YES /NO /SOMETIMES / MAYBE as only acceptable replies. However if you feel that you wish to elaborate a question more and provide us more information, please feel free to do so!

　

1. Do you feel that there are no satisfactory paying cargoes/business opportunities for 
    your vessels this period?

   YES / NO / SOMETIMES /MAYBE

2. Do you think that changing vessels’ trading region you could see a betterment in
    vessels’ income?

    YES / NO / SOMETIMES /MAYBE

3. Do you believe that having access to economies of scale is the only way to cut further
    vessels’ operating expenses or increase earnings?

    YES / NO / SOMETIMES /MAYBE

4. Are you confident that you ‘see’ daily (have control) the whole freight market-
    business opportunities offered?

    YES / NO / SOMETIMES /MAYBE

5. Do you have reliable and trustworthy information of the daily fixtures for each region
    and similar vessels to yours?

   YES / NO / SOMETIMES /MAYBE

6. Does your broker advise you of what the freight levels are from his personal daily
    experience? (Not circulars, reports or press).

    YES / NO / SOMETIMES /MAYBE

7. Has any of your vessels remained in a spot position more than seven days the last
    three months?

    YES / NO / SOMETIMES /MAYBE

8. Do you feel that you are so successful that you wouldn’t change a thing in your
    planning or organizing?

   YES / NO / SOMETIMES /MAYBE

9. Have you ever thought that there must be something else you should do but you don’t
    know what?

    YES / NO / SOMETIMES /MAYBE

　

Since 1997, we have successfully served and serve, numerous loyal clients, internationally, every day, in many ways!

Our success is attributed to our satisfied clientele and our unstoppable interest and continuous efforts for improving our services to our client’s changing needs and their requirements.

Please send us your replies to chartering@eshipownerstrust.com for the attention of: Capt.Andreas, with your comments if any.

In case you don’t want to receive anymore our useful information and newsletters/articles please send us a message back at chartering@eshipownerstrust.com with the note:

unsubscribe ARTICLES. (it is importand to type the word ARTICLES to keep you in our positions/cargo lists).

If again you wish to receive our Newsletters at an alternative email address please advise accordingly.

We are looking forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely yours

S.T.I.C
Anastasios Maraslis
President/Director.

SHIPOWNERS TRUST INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION
                         S.T.I.C
                    Shipping & Trading
SHIP OPERATION/CHARTERING /S&P / TRADING.

S.T.I.C BUILDING - 3, VOUDOURI STR.,- PIRAEUS 185 37 -GREECE.
+30 210 4529500 (TEL), +30 210 4529505 (FAX)
30 6943 108283 MOBILE/Mrs. +Sapfo. /
30 6945 590744 MOBILE/Capt.Andreas/
anastchart2010@hotmail.com /MSN/
sm_chart@hotmail.com /MSN/
s.t.i.c.chartering-operations (SKYPE)www.eshipownerstrust.com
chartering@eshipownerstrust.com   (Chartering Dept.)
Operations@eshipownerstrust.com  (Operations Dept.)
Dry@eshipownerstrust.com             (S&P/TRADING Dept.)
info@eshipownerstrust.com            (General/Admin.Dept.)

'REPORTS AND MARKET JOURNALS VS HANDS ON THE BUSINESS'

Dear friends,colleagues,associates and clients,

'REPORTS AND MARKET JOURNALS VS HANDS ON THE BUSINESS
                   'by Mr. Anastasios Maraslis

                        President/Director

We all know that the majority of CP fixtures is on PNC basis.

However we do witness, very often, various 'fixture reports- journals' declaring vessels' fixtures at high hire or freight levels and  - too often -beyond the reality we experience as brokers, owners or charterers and thus most of the times we are getting confused or frustrated - especially in this soft freight market -
This is because these reports/journals are taken -by many - for granted or as being the ultimate and ONLY reliable source for brokers or shipowners or charterers to base their judgement on, for fixing their vessels or cargoes, chasing and striving to achieve the ‘ journals reported levels’.

Like most of the economic papers and journalists  writings influence investors psychology and the ‘market’ itself. However the ‘market’ it is us (brokers, owners, charterers). It has an identity, it is not something impersonal. It is you and me, all of us who fix vessels or cargoes as part of our daily routines.

We, here at S.T.I.C, receive daily various offers for our exclusive fleet or for our exclusive firm Charterers orders and we are indicated rates based on the argument of what these reports-journals reported as being the current market fixtures/rates.

S.T.I.C's general company policy is to doubt, a priori, what is written in such reports and to make our own investigation, queries, through our own channels to check what the AVERAGE markets levels are and what is pragmatic or not, usual or unusual, what is a RECORD FIXTURE or what is a below the average fixture.

But mostly we trust our everyday work and what we have in our hands every minute coming from experience and hard work and negotiations with charterers and owners alike.

Thus, we invite all our shipping colleagues, who wish to share their OWN, CONTROLLED, first hand INFORMATION, which is resulted as a product of YOUR negotiations and eventual fixtures, to ALLY WITH US for useful information exchanges, which will eventually
assist all of us in our everyday work adding CERTAINTY, CONTROL and RESPONSIBILITY to our fixtures at any time.

The above IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE JOURNALS & REPORTS will built an undisputed source of information based on reason and not on sentiment which is so volatile and fragile.

Looking forward to hearing from you with your interest to share your personal experience and information for dry bulk cargoes & vessels fixtures for HANDYMAX & SUPRAMAX size markets worldwide.

UNSUBSCRIBE:
In case you don’t want to receive anymore our useful information and newsletters/articles please send us a message back at chartering@eshipownerstrust.com with the note:
unsubscribe ARTICLES.  (it is important to type the word ARTICLES to keep you in our positions/cargo lists while deleting you form our newsletters/articles).

With great deal of thanks for your support and interest.

Sincerely yours,

S.T.I.C
Anastasios Maraslis
President/Director.

SHIPOWNERS TRUST INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION

S.T.I.C

Shipping & Trading
SHIP OPERATION/CHARTERING /S&P / TRADING.

S.T.I.C BUILDING - 3, VOUDOURI STR.,- PIRAEUS 185 37 -GREECE.
+30 210 4529500 (TEL), +30 210 4529505 (FAX)
+30 6943 108283 MOBILE/Mrs. Sapfo. /
+30 6945 590744 MOBILE/Capt.Andreas/
anastchart2010@hotmail.com /MSN/
sm_chart@hotmail.com /MSN/
s.t.i.c.chartering-operations (SKYPE)
www.eshipownerstrust.com
chartering@eshipownerstrust.com        (Chartering Dept.)Operations@eshipownerstrust.com       (Operations Dept.)Dry@eshipownerstrust.com                  (S&P/TRADING Dept.)info@eshipownerstrust.com                 (General/Admin.Dept.)

‘A SHIPBROKERS TRIBUTE'

                                      ‘A SHIPBROKERS TRIBUTE'

                        Article Written by Mr. Anastasios Maraslis
                                    S.T.I.C - President/Director
                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

                                                                                             22nd February '012.

'Tuesday morning 8:30am Feb, 2012 and many offices are still closed.

White collar employees are ‘trapped’ in traffic on their way to catch up with their morning tasks with

a bleary eye'.

The above scene stands for many but not for all!

In shipping business we have to be all time alerts and work ‘strange’ unusual hours - often

from 4 am in the morning--to search and to discover the suitable vessel or the firm cargo.

80-90 per cent of cargoes are transported via sea routes by ocean going vessels and this

makes our business a real, tangible business.

Shipbroker's role is a catalyst in shipping cargoes around the globe and this is a unique call.

Too often, competition is fierce and the long hours of work is exhausting, especially when

many shipbrokers are racing to get the same cargo -especially in a poor freight market -

In a flourishing market, there is great demand and appetite for more vessels/ tonnage

capacity to cover plenty of cargoes available and anyone can and is fixing anything making

good money -even the cowboys of the market -

Regrettably, but interestingly enough, Shipping has its peaks and its lows.

Nowadays, once again, we are experiencing a down spiral cycle, (similar to the ‘70’s, ‘80’s

and ‘90’s).

This shipping crisis though is different from the previous decades. Is not only the vessels’

oversupply and the scarcity of cargoes trading - movement but we are experiencing an

unprecedented collapse in the banking system, the Europe’s financial turmoil and the

withdrawal and closure of many credit lines!

No wonder for this is a new shipping recession it is part of the excitement our business

offers.

In difficult periods like this, challenge is what keeps our hearts pounding with passion and

thirst for achievement and accomplishment.

For it is in this challenging times the shipbrokers -worldwide- who must prove their role

significance with showing their focused and inexhaustible hard work and intelligence by

providing once again more than it is expected.

Vessels’ owners are very much worried for their vessel’s employment opportunities and the

scarcity of options in their goal to keep the propellers running at all times.

Profits are getting squeezed, sometimes close to non existent and often the aim is

becoming merely the survival, in certain trading areas and or cases.

Prompt paying credible charterers is owners’ a major concern also which a shipbroker must provide sufficient evidence and information for.

Strategic planning and repositioning of vessels is also a matter to contemplate seriously.

Those Shipbrokers who rely in their personal experience from their day in- day out hard

work have better control over their business and do always consult well and accurately

their clients.

Well experienced and dedicated hard workings Shipbrokers are the only professionals a

ship-owner, a Charterer or a Shipper can rely on in getting the right information for

planning the future or the next fixture.

A reason why Shipbrokers should be reading a lot what is going on internationally.

They read financial papers and magazines, political papers, environmental/climate changes

reports so they would at all times have a clear understanding on how to interlink together

all important information and datums for comprehending how the shipping industry is or is

going to be affected.

As I aforesaid Shipping business is tangible and a very real business. Ships are daily

transporting millions of tons of cargoes from one country to another every day, and YOU,

THE SHIPBROKER - have made it happen!

Professional shipbrokers are not wasting a minute of their day and work pretty intensive

for many hours as it is an International business.

Disappointing and frustrating enough when dates change, or when a cargo is postponed.

A successful shipbroker inspires himself and never lets the market’s downturns spoil his

moral.

No matter the level of expertise he or she has he(she) always has the beginners mind and

treat clients with passion to win their business!

In every call he(she) is making he(she) is transpiring this passion and enthusiasm.

But most important of all is the code of ethics he(she) applies in his(her) daily routines!

Disciplined and ethical 'his word is his bond' endures and overcomes successfully anything

with 'clean hands'.

Since we all are emotional these days due to the unpleasant developments in the world

economy and the soft market this article is dedicated -as a special tribute- to our special 

world wide colleagues, our special fellow and associated hard working shipbrokers,

who support us since S.T.I.C was established in 1997 until today.

Special thanks to all!
S.T.I.C
Anastasios Maraslis
++

                                            S.T.I.C                                                              

                               Shipping & Trading
SHIP'S OPERATION / DRY CARGO CHARTERING / S&P / TRADING
+30 210 4529500 (Tel)
+30 210 4529505 (Fax)
www.eshipownerstrust.com
chartering@eshipownerstrust.com (for chartering)
operations@eshipownerstrust.com (for ships operation/post fixture)
dry@eshipownerstrust.com (for Trading/ S&P)
S.T.I.C BUILDING
3, VOUDOURI STR.,
PIRAEUS 185 37
GREECE.

*

                            ' BUNKERS VS CARGO'                    
            Article written by Mr. Anastasios Maraslis
                       S.T.I.C-President/Director                                     28th February 2012

We are all experiencing a Shipping crisis similar to the '70's,'80's and '90's with very poor freight rates, oversupply of tonnage and due to the banking system turmoils...limited credit lines and LAST BUT NOT LEAST : the bunker prices going off the rooftops!

In a bad freight market, economies must be made and do the outmost to maximize earnings on each voyage by cutting down expenses to the minimum.

If you agree with  the above last statement I hope that you will be benefited greatly considering the following:

Perhaps, there have been times in your shipping career that you might have been taken by surprise with the volatility of the BUNKERS COSTS.
Bunkers costs is a major cost in vessel's running expenses and something you can't ignore in a poor freight market like this.
Sometimes, you might even have witnessed, that the difference between prices available at each end of a voyage exceeds the value of the freight per ton of cargo carried!
Thus in difficult times, a good forward planning has to be made and surprisingly anyone can discover  that CARGO INTAKE SHOULD BE RESTRICTED so that maximum quantities
of bunkers can be lifted at a loading port where bunker supplies are a lot less expensive than at the intended discharging port.

==>GREAT DEAL OF MONEY CAN BE SAVED, OR LOST for the shipping company, depending on how the balance looks between cargo and bunkers! <==

A bunkers planning framework if followed or put into the computer can make you huge savings and cut back your company's running expenses .
Unplanned bunkering or, alternatively, calculated by some one on the back of a napkin can waste you lots of money!
Systematic planning by the ship operator for each voyage of a vessel, can produce very large savings of thousands of dollars protecting and maximising your company's income.

HERE ARE THE PARAMETERS FOR CONSIDERATION AND RESPOND FOR  A WELL THOUGHT BUNKERS FORWARD PLANNING:

1. What is the optimum speed and consumption for the voyage? The first calculation.
2. Steaming, time and consumption.
3. What price? Alternatives and how to choose?
4. Freight or bunkers?
5. Unusual cases to be considered and be prepared.

A DWT 40,000 bulk carrier proceeding from Rotterdam in ballast to load steel products and wood pulp in Brazil, then sailing on to Durban to discharge  and take further cargo, before sailing finally to Japan.
Where should she lift up bunkers and to what extend?  Rotterdam? Durban? Singapore? Japan?
Many alternatives to be considered and each one at each own merit on a voyage-by-voyage bunker buying basis.
Knowledge and information is power which is interpreted in MONEY SAVINGS OR PROFITS,  if you know how to appropriately apply them to your benefit.
I hereby wish to take this opportunity to thank you all for your kind support and acknowledgement contributing in our company's value.
Sincerely Yours,
Anastasios A. Maraslis
President/Director.

                                            S.T.I.C
                                Shipping & Trading
SHIP'S OPERATION / DRY CARGO CHARTERING / S&P /  TRADING
+30 210 4529500 (Tel)
+30 210 4529505 (Fax)
www.eshipownerstrust.com
chartering@eshipownerstrust.com   (for chartering)
operations@eshipownerstrust.com   (for ships operation/post fixture)
dry@eshipownerstrust.com             (for Trading/ S&P)
S.T.I.C BUILDING
3, VOUDOURI STR.,
PIRAEUS 185 37
GREECE.

We Are Re-Designing Our Website For YOU!

S.T.I.C - Shipping & Trading was established in 1997 by Mr. Anastasios Maraslis, A businessman of Greek origin, who has been meritoriously mentioned several times by Lloyd’s List, Trade Winds, Shipping Manager Magazine and other Shipping publications, for his innovative and successful achievements in both Shipping and Marine Insurance Business World.

This month we are re-designing our web site.  It will be functional, helpful, and informative.  This BLOG is a part of that new project.  We anticipate that the new web site will be ready for your use by May 1, 2012.  Please visit us!