GIANLUIGI Aponte was not joking when he described boxship owners this week as being ‘tough guys’.
Egos and posturing aside, it takes a strong leader to put a positive spin on a market with a reputed $20bn black hole in it.
The Mediterranean Shipping Co boss was talking about his peers’ ability to survive, and like his fellow tough guys he is taking the long term view.
Growth in a downturn may not be the ideal strategy, but as he candidly pointed out to Lloyd’s List many of the ships were ordered four to five years ago “when nobody could have expected an economic crisis of this magnitude”.
While critics see looming overcapacity and worrying strategies aimed at protecting market share and volume over sustainable revenue, boxships owners are looking at it as a positive restructuring of the market.
When Zim took delivery of the first of 12 new box giants this week, the message to the market was that these new vessels would leave it better prepared for the market environment after the recession.
That may well be right, but even if the naysayers are wrong and imminent box line casualties can be averted, the tough guys still have a more immediate problem on their hands facing off some equally hard-nosed shippers.
Aponte and his fellow hard men may have a good poker face, but in the battle against angry customers adamantly opposed to rate hikes one wonders whether the container lines are tough enough to win the day?
