Ghost Fleet of the Pacific...

[AZRedhawk44]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/moslive/article-1212013/revealed-the-ghost-fleet-recession.html



Article is too long to quote here, but very interesting.

A HUGE fleet just sitting idle in SE Asian waters.  Imagine the APS armada we could build from it.

I call Admiral!

[280plus]

I'll never forget climbing to the top of Victoria's peak and peering over the other side of the island and seeing a scene like that stretching out to and beyond the horizon. That was in the late 70's.

[seeker_two]

Yeah...but....if we of the APS Anti-Piracy League go out there and steal those ships...wouldn't we be guilty of piracy?....and, if so, wouldn't we then have to shoot ourselves?...


Then again....DIBS ON FISTFUL!!!


 

[Headless Thompson Gunner]

Ah!  Such a robust economic recovery we have going!

[AZRedhawk44]

We could "appropriate" all of them and when Globular Warming Climate Change comes to smite the hoomans for our evils, we can lash them together and make a floating city.  We will be the survivors of the apocalypse and can film a sequel to Waterworld.  How fun would that be?

[BlueStarLizzard]

We could "appropriate" all of them and when Globular Warming Climate Change comes to smite the hoomans for our evils, we can lash them together and make a floating city.  We will be the survivors of the apocalypse and can film a sequel to Waterworld.  How fun would that be?

only if we can get dennis hopper to come with us

 

[280plus]

How about another round of cash for clunkers? Get all them nasty old fuel guzzling ships off the ocean. I'll email Mr Obama with it.

[MillCreek]

Thanks so much for the link.  That was a fascinating article.

[drewtam]

How about another round of cash for clunkers? Get all them nasty old fuel guzzling ships off the ocean. I'll email Mr Obama with it.

I think this is a prime example why sky high prices during 2008 was not about gouging.
According to the article, a lot of those will soon be new boats. These massive ships are 3years order to delivery. So the explosion in trade seen from 2005 to 2008 is coming to fruition from now to 2011; this will just add more boats to sit and rust.
The shipping companies paid their money and took their chances.

It wasn't gouging because merchants of all kinds (specifically oil and commodities) were controlling demand, using prices, due to supply constraints. When the trough hits, they are left holding the bag bringing more capacity on line. They gotta use the boom times to survive the bust times.

[Standing Wolf]

It's Bush's fault.

[RevDisk]

The most telling aspect is that there is no Christmas rush of cargo ships.  That's...  bad.  Very bad.  Distributors should already be stocking up for the holidays. 

[red headed stranger]

You may wish to know this because, if ever you had an irrational desire to charter one, now would be the time. This time last year, an Aframax tanker capable of carrying 80,000 tons of cargo would cost £31,000 a day ($50,000). Now it is about £3,400 ($5,500).

OK, who wants to set up the paypal account to set up a charter fund?   

[roo_ster]

only if we can get dennis hopper to come with us

 

And Kevin Costner gets wrapped in anchor chain and tossed over the side.

[MicroBalrog]

And Kevin Costner gets wrapped in anchor chain and tossed over the side.

We'd need the Exxon Valdez for that.

[MechAg94]

The most telling aspect is that there is no Christmas rush of cargo ships.  That's...  bad.  Very bad.  Distributors should already be stocking up for the holidays. 

So you are saying I should try to buy presents early? 

[RevDisk]

So you are saying I should try to buy presents early? 

If you're looking for specific stuff, yes.  If you're looking for any generic presents, no.  Capitalism always fills a void, just expect to pay higher prices.  If you're willing to shift what commodities you're buying, it's not that big of a deal.

There's a specific "window" for manufacturing consumer goods.  Christmas is the epicenter for the annual production cycle (of generic consumer goods).  Manufacturing should have been kicked into overdrive last month, and transportation should be increasing now.  Bulk shipment to distributors should peak mid to late October.  November should flood the stores with the new stuff.  Late November and early December is a mad scramble to adjust to buying trends.

If you don't see bulk transportation increase within the next two weeks, Christmas is going to be an economic flop.  That's really bad.  The Christmas buying frenzy is where a lot of stores make their bank.  Friends of mine have told me that the first two weeks of December sells more stuff than the seven (sometimes eight) slowest months combined.  You can't handle that kind of peak load without logistical support, which is the entire point of distributors.  For this kind of a backlog, the majority of chains are forecasting a dead Christmas and don't want to be stuck with inventory that isn't going to move.  Or they can't afford to buy inventory.  They made this decision roughly 3 months ago.

[makattak]

Before the gloom and doom gets any worse, allow me to point out one bit of pertinent information from the article:

A couple of years ago these ships would be steaming back and forth. Now 12 per cent are doing nothing

12 percent.

Now, I'm going to guess that the rest are being fully loaded (as before) as it makes more economic sense to use as few ships as possible for shipping.

Thus it is a 12 percent drop in international shipping. That's nothing to sneeze at, but it's also no OMG TEH END OF TEH WERLDZ!!!!!!!

Is there a chance we can slip into a worse recession or even a depression? Yes, and Obama's rumblings about China may spark that (Smoot-Hawley II). (Also, the tax hike come Jan. 1 isn't going to help either.)

However, please don't think that (1) it's the worst thing that happened, EVER or (2) it is a forgone conclusion that we will collapse.

My bet is the governmental meddling will slow the recovery but we will recover barring further stupidity from our elected officials.

[AJ Dual]

If you're looking for specific stuff, yes.  If you're looking for any generic presents, no.  Capitalism always fills a void, just expect to pay higher prices.  If you're willing to shift what commodities you're buying, it's not that big of a deal.

There's a specific "window" for manufacturing consumer goods.  Christmas is the epicenter for the annual production cycle (of generic consumer goods).  Manufacturing should have been kicked into overdrive last month, and transportation should be increasing now.  Bulk shipment to distributors should peak mid to late October.  November should flood the stores with the new stuff.  Late November and early December is a mad scramble to adjust to buying trends.

If you don't see bulk transportation increase within the next two weeks, Christmas is going to be an economic flop.  That's really bad.  The Christmas buying frenzy is where a lot of stores make their bank.  Friends of mine have told me that the first two weeks of December sells more stuff than the seven (sometimes eight) slowest months combined.  You can't handle that kind of peak load without logistical support, which is the entire point of distributors.  For this kind of a backlog, the majority of chains are forecasting a dead Christmas and don't want to be stuck with inventory that isn't going to move.  Or they can't afford to buy inventory.  They made this decision roughly 3 months ago.

From the consumer side, we're already propogating that trend. Everyone knows that they're getting data-DVD distrbutions of almost ALL family photos which are now scanned in at a relatively high DPI, and 8mm family movie film conversions to DVD etc. for Christmas.

It's a "cheap" gift purchase wise, although it does represent a huge investment of our personal time. Especially Mrs. Dual who is spearheadding the effort.

[mtnbkr]

From the consumer side, we're already propogating that trend. Everyone knows that they're getting data-DVD distrbutions of almost ALL family photos which are now scanned in at a relatively high DPI, and 8mm family movie film conversions to DVD etc. for Christmas.

It's a "cheap" gift purchase wise, although it does represent a huge investment of our personal time. Especially Mrs. Dual who is spearheadding the effort.

We do that sort of thing frequently now that we have kids.  Wifey loves doing scrapbooks and similar stuff for family gifts.

Chris

[charby]

And Kevin Costner gets wrapped in anchor chain and tossed over the side.

No, we'll have his band perform for our ship's entertainment.
(Gotta help a brother out)

[HankB]

Yeah...but....if we of the APS Anti-Piracy League go out there and steal those ships...wouldn't we be guilty of piracy?....

Well, if nobody was aboard, wouldn't the ship be salvage?

Let's see . . . APS frogmen cut the anchor chain the anchor chain, weakened by rust, breaks as the tide is going out, and as soon as the APS submarine tows the ship the ship drifts from natural currents 12.1 miles offshore - SALVAGE!

[Fly320s]

Why dont we just buy a few boats with our high-value American dollars? Surely our creditis still good. :)

[freedom lover]

I'll never forget climbing to the top of Victoria's peak and peering over the other side of the island and seeing a scene like that stretching out to and beyond the horizon. That was in the late 70's.

Mount Victoria? I've never heard of it. Maybe I should read the article.

Let's see . . . APS frogmen cut the anchor chain

We have SCUBA divers here? I know we have Carebear. What I don't know is if the Corps trains recon Marines in underwater diving.

Then again....DIBS ON FISTFUL!!!

Nobody points guns at Fisty! Respect the guy enough to let him shoot himself. What? He's a scapegoat? I don't care. You don't shoot APS members in the back!
 

Seriously. You shouldn't make jokes about shooting people. They just get other people mad.

[BlueStarLizzard]

Mount Victoria? I've never heard of it. Maybe I should read the article.

We have SCUBA divers here? I know we have Carebear. What I don't know is if the Corps trains recon Marines in underwater diving.
 

Nobody points guns at Fisty! Respect the guy enough to let him shoot himself. What? He's a scapegoat? I don't care. You don't shoot APS members in the back!
 

Seriously. You shouldn't make jokes about shooting people. They just get other people mad.

oh we wouldn't shoot him with real guns. nerf guns. lots of nerf guns. 

[280plus]

Not Mount Victoria, Victoria's Peak. Hong Kong...