|
|
Article: A cautionary tale.(Second Thoughts)
- Article from:
- Marine Log
- Article date:
- January 1, 2008
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2008 Simmons-Boardman Publishing Corporation. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
This being the start of a new year, it's traditional to make some predictions and forecasts. So, let's start with world shipbuilding, where all the signs seem to be that we are heading for another boom year.
So far, so good. But if we look a little further out than this year, prospects are much more worrisome. To illustrate what I'm talking about, here's a cautionary tale.
Way back when, Sweden was the world's No.2 commercial shipbuilding nation, second only to Japan.
What Swedish yards did with amazing efficiency was to build Vry Large Crude Carriers (VLCC's)--and ever larger VLCC's at that.
I recall sitting in the office of the CEO ...