US-BASED shipping company Genco Shipping and Trading Limited said the shipping industry is still reeling from the economic downturn and expects a rebound in 2014.
Genco Shipping president Robert G. Buchanan said the shipping business is cyclical, as it has always been cyclical. Ship owners will continue to face tough times for the rest of the year. “In the years 2007-08, ship owners had a very good business because China was ramping up. China was importing raw commodities and oil at a very fast rate because of their expansions. Products built in China are then exported, and so every facet of shipping industry was benefiting,” he said.
China is such a big market because of large population. In good times, many ship owners thought that the growth in China will continue for a much longer period, so they ordered very vast quantity of ships.
“But when business draws out of the way, it happened when the ships are being delivered in the shipyards. Sadly, today China’s economy slowed down,” he said.
“The shipping industry has fallen into a very deep abyss. 2012 will continue to be a poor year and we will only begin to see changes in 2013. But we don’t see great changes until we go up to 2014, so it’s a long way to recovery,” he added.
Genco operates a fleet of 74 vessels, all dry-bulk. Of the 74 vessels, eight were 100 percent manned by Filipino seafarers. The predominant nationality is Chinese, followed by Indians, then Ukrainians and the bottom of the pie is Filipinos.
“We are looking towards ways how we can increase the number of Filipinos on board our ships,” he said.
Buchanan said there is no big difference in salaries of seafarers, compared from years ago. The salary of Chinese used to be cheaper but they are catching up fast, because things are changing in China.
The salaries of Filipino seafarers are midway between the Indians and Chinese but then, there is no big difference. Ukrainians’ salaries are much on par with what Filipino seafarers get.
“There are still differences in salary but not substantial differences,” he said.
Buchanan said they all have their own competencies and they all perform well. He explained that in some days, one nationality may be performing better than the other, but they don’t compare on a day by day basis.
“As long as the ships perform well…It is the overall financial year that we are looking up,” he said.
Buchanan said they are putting safety consciousness among the seafarers. “We are trying to see who the healthier crew is, with less accident,” he said. PNA
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