Troubled waters

摘要

While the majority of the top 20 ocean carriers have all gleefully announced their record profits in the last 12 months, most intra-Asian shipping lines (with the possible exception of Wan Hai) have all struggled to remain in the black. Although low freight rates have played a part in this poor performance, rapidly increasing charter hire costs have been the main culprit. For the South Korean ocean carrier Sinokor Merchant Marine, this has been a big concern. JH Lee, the company's charter team section chief, lamented: 'It is very difficult to make money. Sometimes, we decrease the number of vessels we are operating, and we change the vessels in our services many times to obtain the best efficiency, which gives us a chance of contributing to our bottom line.' Consequently, the balance between owned and chartered tonnage is crucial.