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International Representatives EDITOR'S NOTE T he beginning of the year is used as a benchmark to assess the progress of personal and professional achievements and goals. In black and white business terms, the new year should mean little more than replacing the calendar. With long-term plans in place and near-term strategizing completed months ago, January 1 is, in reality, just another day. However, there is nothing black and white about the emotions which drive business decisions. A host of factors which arose during the last three months of1997 have conspired to leave many in the maritime industry with a certain unsettled feeling entering 1998, which has arisen out of the uncertainty about one word... Oil. The oil market was the big driver of maritime business in 1997. As companies acti- vated record numbers ofdeepwater offshore projects, there were acute shortages of rigs, off- shore supply vessels and equipment. Coupled with soaring barrel and tanker rates, the word "boom" couldn't be used enough in stories regarding the market. But the oil boom armor started collecting dings late in the year, when a series of indi- vidual events conspired to collectively upset the oil supply-and-demand balance. First, the economic troubles of many countries in the Far East have economists pro- jecting — albeit with no real clarity or certainty — the short and long-term effects of oil demands for the region. (Before the troubles began, the Far East economies were seen as major drivers in boosting world oil demand). Second, OPEC's leaders decided to boost production 10 percent in an attempt to capitalize on the peaking demand. Finally, the ongoing saga regarding the on-again, off-again "oil-for-food" deal between the U.N. and Iraq promises to further muddy the supply and demand waters. Here's the good news. Although shaken, the foundation on which this oil boom was built remains solid. Companies now have the technologies and the tax incentives to discover and recover resources in deeper and deeper waters. Short term downturns in any business are inevitable, but the fact remains that resources are out there, and someone will get them. Also, there has been hardly a let-up in the number of rig, tanker and related offshore ves- sel contracts reported to this office. Despite some rumblings about down-sized E&P bud- gets, it appears that major offshore players are continuing to spend money on new and rebuilt equipment. Finally, word has it that the OPEC oil producers have no intention of glutting the market with unneeded oil, and will produce accordingly as events of the year unfold. INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS Charles E. Keil, Vice President 980 N. Federal Highway, Ste. 206-01, Boca Raton, FL 33432 Telephone: +561-368-1021; Fax: +561-368-1161 24-hr Tel/Fax: +561-998-0313; Mobile Tel: +561-716-0338 Australia ANNE MURRAY/YVONNE SANDFORD World Media Network Pty. Ltd. Suite 5, Level 1,89 York St., Sydney, NSW 2000 Australia Tel: +61 2 9299 5677; Fax: +61 2 9299 6178 Argentina R. LESLIE RAMSAY Calle Pellegrini 173 Primer Piso, Departamento C 1009 Buenos Aires, Argentina Tel: 54 1 394 8821; Fax: 54 1 326 4377 Benelux PAULA TACQ Maritime Media ML Otweg 18 2771 VX Boskoop, Netherlands Te: +31 172 230707; Fax: +31 172 230708 Brazil JOSE DUARTE DOS SANTOS Multipla Agencial Martima, Ltda. Rua Carolino Rodrigues 28 Cuarlo Andar, CEP-11055-070 Santos, Sao Paulo, Brazi Tel/Fax: 55 1 32 32 74 74 Central America EDUARDO F. LOPEZ/LUIS A. SANCLEMENTE Transmarine Media Service, P.O. Box 2071, Panama 1, Panama Tel: +507 264 8404/60; Fax: +507 223 8367 China WANG ZE/XU XIAO FENG Liaoning Foreign Trade Advertising Corp. 2 Zhongshan Square, Dalian, China 116002 Tel: +86 411 2801924; Fax: +86 411 2644606 Eastern Europe IVAN BERENYI/OLGAIVAN0VA Pannonia Media Agency, 8630 Balatonboglar Radnoti Miklos u.14, Hungary Tel: +36 85 353 319; Fax: +36 85 353 442 Egypt CAPTAIN TARIQ M. OSMAN Osman Marine Media Co. Algamhoria St., P.O. Box 1248, Alkleej Bldg, Port Said, Egypt Tel: +20 66 340988; Fax: +20 66 325705 France DANIEL SOLNICA Ediconsult Internazionale, 25 rue Saulnier 75009 Paris, France Tel: +33 1 4246 9571; Fax: +33 1 4246 8508 Germany & Switzerland HANSJ0RG BRANS Maritime Media Freiherr v. Stein Str. 24, D-63303 Dreieich, Germany Tel: +49 6103 697745; Fax: +49 6103 697743 Hong Kong NEWTON CHENG Winwell Services Ltd., Room 808, Yu Sung Boon Bldg. 107-111 Des Voux Road, Central Hong Kong Tel: +852 2815 0266; Fax: +852 2544 6662 Italy/Malta VITTORIO NEGRONE Ediconsult Internazionale Piazza Fontane Marose, 3-16123 Genoa, Italy Tel: +39 10 583684; Fax: +39 10 566578 Japan AKIOISHII Ace Media Service Inc. 12-6,4-chome, Nishiike Adachi-ku, Tokyo 121, Japan Tel: +81 3 5691 3335; Fax: + 81 3 5691 3336 Korea JO, YOUNG SANG Business Communications, Inc. Kwangwhamun P.O. Box 1916, Seoul, Korea Tel: +82 2 739 7840; Fax: +82 2 732 3662 Peru WILLIAM FRY Trahites y Despachos S.A. Avenida Salaverry 3005, Lima 27, Peru Tel: 51 1 264 3225; Fax: 51 1 264 1974 Portugal/Gibraltar PAULO BREHM AZ Publiciadade Lda., Rua Almirante Barroso, 52-1 D, P-1000 Lisbon, Portugal Tel:+351 1 3142256; Fax:+351 1 3525157 Scandinavia STEPHAN R.G. ORN/LEON SCHULZ AB Stephan R.G. Orn, Box 184 S-271 24 Ystad, Sweden Tel: +46 411-184 00; Fax: +46 411 105 31 Singapore CATHERINE WONG The Euro-Asia Link, 391 A Orchard Road #12-01 Ngee Ann City Tower A, Singapore 238873 Tel: +65 337 4658; Fax: +65 456 4610 South Africa FINN KVAMSDAHL Finn's Enterprises, Media Marketing Division P.O. Box 99, 2250, Blinkpan, Republic of South Africa Tel/Fax: +27 13 2963 023 South America/ Caribbean Basin DELIO R. ALONSO Multilink International 115 Calabria Ave., Ste. 12 Coral Gables, Fla. 33134 Tel: +305-445-6423; Fax: +305-445-1483 Spain JESUS MORAN Via Exdusiuas S.L. Modesto Lafuente, 4 28010, Madrid, Spain Tel: +341 448 7622; Fax: +341 446 0198 Turkey NIHAT BOYTUZUN/ROWENA BAILEY Kamera Corp., Cumhurlyet Cad. 257/3, Harblye 80230, Istanbul, Turkey Tel:+90 212 231 14 20; Fax: +90 212 230 36 97 United Kingdom MICHAEL J. DAMSELL Euromedia Ltd., P.O. Box 122, Hayward's Heath,West Sussex RH16 1YF, England Tel: +44 1444 417360; Fax: +44 1 1896 784089 Maritime Reporter/Engineering News