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International Representatives EDITOR'S NOTE Plotting The Course For 2000 T he maritime industry has always provided fertile grounds for the breed- ing of a good suspense — whether it be of the political, financial or nationalistic pride variety — and the past year proved to be no excep- tion. Coming into 1998, most attention was squarely focused on the "clock ticking" toward July 1 and the implementation of the ISM Code. Gloom and doom sayers had a field day, predicting dire consequences regarding the ability of the world fleet to effectively acquire the necessary stamp of approval, and forecasting the literal stop- page of international trade. July 1 came and went, much like any other day of the 24 hour variety, and on July 2 the world was still spinning. The ongoing sagas regarding subsidies, "price dumping" and excess building capacity remain just that...ongoing sagas. While it has become abundantly clear that the U.S. is in no hurry to ratify the OECD agreement regarding the elimination of shipbuilding subsidies, it has left the EU and the indi- vidual European countries in a quandary regarding the support to their shipyards. The mantra of unfair competition and "price dumping" has grown louder and more frequent, as more and more orders fall into the hands of Asian yards. China has now fortified its position among the world's mos prolific ship- builders, taking the number three slot in terms of tonnage built behind Japan and Korea. While the continuing financial crisis will surely shake-out some of the corporate weaklings, it has become clear that the balance of new ship orders is not about to shift from the Far East anytime soon. Thus, yards with addresses outside of Japan and Korea will continue to focus on the high-value and niche vessel segments. The formation and operation of the Aker Group of shipyards, under the direc- tion of Otto Soberg, and the expansion of Halter Marine Group in the U.S. under the direction of John Dane III, could be considered blueprints for shipyard operations of the future: a grouping large enough to withstand the financial rigors inherent in the market, yet small enough to be responsive, flexible and capable of responding to a diversity of market demands with a high degree of excellence. What's Next? It seems a necessary exercise to conjure a "deadline" upon which to focus attention, and the coming year provides the mother of all deadlines in the form of January 1, 2000 and the inevitable Y2K prob- lem. Companies worldwide are in top gear to ensure that there is no catastrophic shutdown at the stroke of midnight on December 31,1999. While it can be reasonably assured that there will be a num- ber of problems — given the sheer size and inter-dependancy of the international maritime market — it is similarly reasonable to assume that the shipping industry will weather the storm relatively well. The upside of Y2K is the strong focus on technology: revealing how automated the "conservative" maritime market has become, and additionally, how many more levels of automation can be achieved. The "high-tech" side of the maritime market will be a recurring theme in MR/EN throughout 1999 (starting with an in-depth Y2K assessment feature in January) with many articles and sections dedicat- ed to exploring the way in which companies — vessel builders, owner/operators and marine equipment suppliers — are integrating advanced solutions to save time and create new efficiencies and profit opportunities. Coming Up In MR/EN in 1999 February 1999 April 1999 Cruise Ship Yearbook International Offshore Annual Nav/Comm Electronics Selection Guide World Ship Repair Atlas & Directory Country Focus: Norway World Regional Report: Middle East March 1999 May 1999 World Ship Repair Technology Guide Nor-Shipping '99 Guide to Satellite Communications Fuels, Lubricants, Additives & Filters Review Country Focus: Spain Country Focuses: Finland & Canada IHTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS CHARLES E. KEIL, Vice President 4400 N. Federal Highway, Ste. 210-06, Boca Raton, FL 33431 Telephone: +561-368-1021; Fax: +561-368-1161 24-hr Tel/Fax: +561-998-0313; Mobile Tel: +561-716-0338 Australia ANNE MURRAY/YVONNE SANDF0RD 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, Ltdo. Rua Carolino Rodrigues 28 Cuarto Andar, CEP-11055-070 Santos, Sao Paulo, Brazil Tel/Fax: +55 1 32 32 74 74 Central America EDUARD0 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 BERENY1/0LGAIVAN0VA Pannonia Media Agency, 8630 Balatonboglar Radnoti Miklos u.14, Hungary Tel: +36 85 353 319; Fax: +36 85 353 442 Egypt CAPTAIN TARIQM. 0SMAN 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 S0LNICA 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/Taiwan DENNIS L0/JIMME KWAN Phantom International, Ltd. Room 208, Seaview Centre 139 Hoi Bun Rd., Kowloon East, Hong Kong Tel: +852 9179 9872; Fox: +852 2304 1232 Italy/Malta VITT0RI0 NEGRONE Ediconsult Internazionale Piazza Fontane Morose, 3-16123 Genoa, Italy Tel: +39 010 583684; Fax: +39 010 566578 Japan AKI0ISHII 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. 0RN/LE0N SCHULZ AB Stephan R.G. Orn, Box 184 S-271 24 Ystad, Sweden Tel: +46 411-184 00; Fax: +46 411 10531 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 2953 023 South America/ Caribbean Basin DELIO R. ALONSO Multilink International 115 Calabria Ave., Ste. 12 Coral Gables, Fla. 33134 Tel: +305-445-6423; Fox: +305-445-1483 Spain JOSE LUIS SEVA Via Exdusiuas S.L. Modesto Lafuente, 4 28010, Madrid, Spain Tel: +34 91 448 7622; Fax: +34 91 446 0198 Turkey NIHAT BOYTUZUN Kamera Corp., Cumhurlyet Cad. 257/3, Harblye 80230, Istanbul, Turkey Tel: +90 212 248 48 64; Fax: +90 212 230 36 97 United Kingdom MICHAEL J. DAMSELL Euromedia Ltd., P.O. Box 122, Hayward's Heath,West Sussex RH161YF, England Tel: +44 1444 417360; Fax: +44 1444 410497 8 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News