The current financial climate is driving shipowners to consider operating their vessels without insurance and exploring other 'increasingly risky' ways of keeping their operating costs down. According to Barry Hughes, Finance Director at Bibby Ship Management, shipowners are facing difficult financial decisions and are looking at ways to cut their baseline. 'While vessel operating costs continue to rise at an alarming rate, particularly in respect of crew wages, we are also seeing declining charter rates in many sectors, and consequently vessel owners are being forced to review their financial planning,' he says.
展开▼
