Tales of a Shipping Man

Our President Matt McCleery recently published his debut novel, The Shipping Man – perhaps the first work of ship finance fiction ever written.

In his Acknowledgments section, Matt writes, “Over the past 25 years, it has been an honor and a privilege to report on, analyze and support the largely private business of capital formation for ships – and applaud the individuals who make the industry so fascinating and fun. The goal of this book is to capture the unique spirit of the shipping and ship finance business in a way that is, hopefully, both entertaining and educational.”

We are guided through the industry via protagonist Robert Fairchild, who decides to finally pursue his dream of owning a ship – “embarking on an odyssey into the most exclusive, glamorous and high stakes business in the world.”

To get your copy, visit Amazon.com, and read what others are saying about The Shipping Man: 

The Shipping Man eschews more traditional formulae of merchant shipping novels by concentrating on the dichotomy between money and ships, comparing and contrasting the shipping industry as we now find it, lolling in a slump after the longest boom in the sector since the late 18^th Century, with the investment banking industry, not exactly everyone’s favorite walk of life since 2008.

And you have to say, the cynicism and misanthropy on display from the major characters in the book are pretty breathtaking.  You could call what goes on in the story, charting the roller-coaster ride of Robert Fairchild, Wall Street fund person, and his adventures in shipping, quite a study in business cultures.  The shipping characters are more simpatico than the investment bankers, but they are all meat eaters.  Shipping Chutzpa plays and ultimately wins against Banker Swagger.

The story of The Shipping Man is gripping enough and accessible enough for Joe Public, and this reviewer, no banker he, read the book in only two sittings.

The publishers are to be congratulated for having the imagination and moxy to give flight to Matthew McCleery’s novelistic fancy. The Shipping Man deserves to do well and to serve long on the short shelf of memorable shipping fiction. – Sam Ignarski, The Wavy Line

Author Matt McCleery has clearly set out to unveil the mysterious workings of the industry, showing how shipping markets work and how investments are funded. And as president of Marine Money International and managing director of ship-finance consultancy firm Blue Sea International, he certainly knows what he is talking about.” – Steve Matthews, Lloyd’s List

A perfect primer for those who want a peek into mysterious world of international shipping - Norwegian tycoons, Greek magnates, Chinese traders and German bankers. McCleery takes us on the comedic journey of a New York investor who finds himself ill-prepared for the realities of the world's second oldest profession. – Customer Review, Amazon.com

“For us who are in this industry it reminds us why we love it so much.” - Hans Laue, President, Jan Gisholt Shipping

We hope you’ll join the continually growing list of readers who have followed the journey of The Shipping Man. Happy reading!

Marine Money's 25th Anniversary Commemoration

 

We are happy to announce that 2012 marks the 25th Anniversary year of Marine Money International.

In celebration of this milestone, Marine Money will provide the means for the global organization Room to Read to build a six‐room schoolhouse in Moddaikadai, Sri Lanka. For a small company such as ours, it is a remarkable feat.

As you may remember, Marine Money has previously partnered with Room to Read, featuring its founder, John Wood, as keynote speaker at our 2011 Marine Money Week. Following Wood's keynote address, he joined our chairman Jim Lawrence at a closing of the NASDAQ Stock Exchange.

© 2011, The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc.

This collaboration led to a dialogue among the Marine Money team about celebrating the company’s 25th anniversary by donating a portion of the proceeds from each of our 2012 Forums to Room to Read to build a school on behalf of Marine Money. In December 2011, members of our team met with John Wood once more and made this idea a reality.

When choosing a country in which a build a school, we wanted to tap into our roots and select a country where there is a maritime connection. Sri Lanka is a large tropical island just twenty miles off the southern tip of India. Sri Lanka, formerly a British colony known as Ceylon until the mid‐twentieth century, has a number of ports, Colombo, the capital, being its largest and amongst others, Trincomalee, the fifth largest natural harbor in the world. Sri Lanka’s breathtaking beauty belies a challenging history, including most recently, a 20 year civil war between the Tamil in the North and East and the Sinhalese majority. This difficult history has translated into suffering for many Sri Lankans.

Students in Sri Lanka take their writing assignments seriously. (© Room to Read)

Marine Money will sponsor the construction of a school in in the war-ravaged Northern Tamil region of the country, where the current need is greatest. This will be collaboration with the local community, which is challenged to contribute land, additional funds and effort of their own. Room to Read believes that involving the community in projects like these fosters a lifelong connection to the programs, and this philosophy has been integral to the organization’s global impact over the past ten years.

We will provide you with updates throughout the year regarding the development of our project. First construction will likely commence mid‐2012, and it is anticipated that with all being well, the project will be finished in the first quarter of 2013.

We are very proud and honored to be involved with such a renowned organization and endeavor. All attendees to our events are contributing to the building of our "school." Your support and encouragement over the years have helped make this possible. Thank you.

If you are interested in helping us support Room to Read further by donating for books, scholarships, reading rooms or even additional schools, visit our team website to learn more or to donate. No donation is ever too small!

http://roomtoread.kintera.org/general/marinemoney

Shipping Companies & Social Media

Shipping companies & Facebook - part 1 of our research

Marine Money searched the Internet for official Facebook pages, Twitter accounts, YouTube channels and LinkedIn profiles from a list of 100 major shipping companies to determine who had a social media presence and how sophisticated that might be.  We wanted to discern whether a maritime company could exhibit brand presence through social media marketing as well as gauge their ability to use the same platforms in general and during a crisis.  That the industry is by and large at the start of its adoption of the developing communications tools is not surprising.  But the opportunities, challenges and threats posed by the new media we suspect means the adoption curve will be steep and swift.

Read more in the Marine Money article below about how shipping companies around the world are using (or not using) social media.

Welcome to the Marine Money Blog

For more than twenty years Marine Money has brought you the latest news from an industry covering the entire world. Now, our team is navigating the seas of social media.

We're fortunate to be in one of the most connected and networked of industries. While our connections will always serve as the shipping industry's greatest asset, the Marine Money staff feels it is the right time to take advantage of all the resources social media have to offer.

Check us out while you're surfing the web:

http://www.linkedin.com/company/marine-money

http://facebook.com/MarineMoney

http://twitter.com/MarineMoney

http://www.flickr.com/photos/marinemoney

We'll also use this blog as a way to keep you updated on special projects we are working on.

Finally, you can always reach us at www.marinemoney.com! We look forward to staying connected!