Today, I realized something which can have great practical significance in future.
As I was walking down the busy market area (in Bhubaneswar) today, I saw a sweet stall with a very unusual name. Normally sweet stalls in this area are always the branded ones selling popular sweets of the likes of “kaju ka barfi”. But here is a shop with the name of a very remote village of Orissa. At the first instant I was wondering if this shop invited any customers. But a closer look into the shop suggested otherwise. In fact the people in charge of this shop were really having a busy time. Also this shop specialized only on a few varieties of sweets- typical to that remote village. And yet, this shop is giving all the branded stalls a fairly good competition.
The interesting thing was that only two people handled the complete affairs of this stall. As I enquired further into the details of this stall, I realized that both the people who are running this shop are joint owners of this stall. And both belong to the same remote village.
One of them used to make these same sweets to cater to the needs of the village. But he was never satisfied with his life as the amount of money he was earning was barely enough. The other person was more adventurous and was exploring the opportunities available in the town. He had started his living as a road side “panipuri cum dosa” vendor.
But fortune has better things stored for both this people, who decided to come up with a plan to start a sweet stall specializing in sweets which were typical to their village. Only difference was that, the stall is now located at the one of the busiest market places of the capital city of the state. Over the last couple of years this stall has turned out to be one of the most popular sweet stalls of the town. And here the owners are......... earning more than what a top MBA school grad will end up earning.
Sometimes such real life success stories provide great lessons and inspirations. Sometimes we can learn so many things just by taking a closer look at the world around us.
Thursday, March 30, 2006
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
FOR SOME VERY SPECIAL PEOPLE- 2
Let me reserve this post for my family and my childhood friends.
Not many people will disagree with me on the fact that one’s family and relatives are the biggest treasures that any human being can possess. It is great to play various roles within a family – as a son, as a brother, as a cousin, as a nephew, as a husband (I am yet to play this role….so not much idea of the complexity of this role) and a plethora of others role at the same time. Perhaps family is the only place where an individual can be “just himself/herself”. And like most of you, I can safely go on to say that “I am the luckiest guy on this planet” as far as family is considered. No wonder, the moments I get to spend in my home are the greatest moments of my life.
As I look deeper into the lost moments of my life into my school days I can easily recollect the great moments I spent with my childhood friends. Unfortunately, most of them are completely out of touch now. However, I will like to thank Sovan, Tapas, Piyush, Prashanth, Sarthak, Rudra, Deepti and all the DAVites, who were so much a part of my life a decade ago and so much a part of my memories today,…………. for all those fun-filled memorable moments of childhood. And a special mention of Tapas whose life story is so similar to the story line of “Lakshya”. Kudos to you, Captain Tapas.
Not many people will disagree with me on the fact that one’s family and relatives are the biggest treasures that any human being can possess. It is great to play various roles within a family – as a son, as a brother, as a cousin, as a nephew, as a husband (I am yet to play this role….so not much idea of the complexity of this role) and a plethora of others role at the same time. Perhaps family is the only place where an individual can be “just himself/herself”. And like most of you, I can safely go on to say that “I am the luckiest guy on this planet” as far as family is considered. No wonder, the moments I get to spend in my home are the greatest moments of my life.
As I look deeper into the lost moments of my life into my school days I can easily recollect the great moments I spent with my childhood friends. Unfortunately, most of them are completely out of touch now. However, I will like to thank Sovan, Tapas, Piyush, Prashanth, Sarthak, Rudra, Deepti and all the DAVites, who were so much a part of my life a decade ago and so much a part of my memories today,…………. for all those fun-filled memorable moments of childhood. And a special mention of Tapas whose life story is so similar to the story line of “Lakshya”. Kudos to you, Captain Tapas.
FOR SOME VERY SPECIAL PEOPLE - 1
It is so difficult to forget those undergraduate days. Every time I think about those days, I feel as if those days existed a couple of days back. Four years of ones life is no small period and if these four years includes two teenaged years and two more after that, I wonder if the sweetness of the period can be replicated. Those friends (so difficult to make such friends later in life…..), frolic (definition is so wide that …), night outs (for obvious reasons….), movies (I wonder if I spared any …….), crushes (IIT Madras is definitely not the best place to have many crushes, but still I had my share...) and mugging sessions (the last thing I was really interested in….) will always remain very clear in memories.
This place would not have been such a great place without my batch mates and hostel mates. It is really difficult to mention out all the names but a special thanks to the following people (profs not included), whose names are synonymous with my experience of IITM. As I type down your designations, I can realise how much life has changed for all of us.
Apurva (Presently Offshore designer, Keppel’s, Singapore)
Sameer (PhD Student, Simons Rochester)
Kanu (PhD Student, MIT)
Deb (Civil Engineer, Florida)
Vyom (Surveyor, ABS)
Priya (Second year MBA IIM Cal)
Harish (Phd Student, MIT)
Ayush (PhD Student, Purdue)
Anup (PhD Student, Virginia Tech.)
Kishore (PhD Student, OSU)
Vishal (PhD Student, Idaho)
Well, the list is really long…. And I better restrict them to my memory.
However, my sincere wishes to all those people who took the same path from hostel to the departments, who appreciated all those great movies at OAT, who enjoyed the same Saarang, and yet, look so different now. But one thing can never change - "the spirit of IITM".
This place would not have been such a great place without my batch mates and hostel mates. It is really difficult to mention out all the names but a special thanks to the following people (profs not included), whose names are synonymous with my experience of IITM. As I type down your designations, I can realise how much life has changed for all of us.
Apurva (Presently Offshore designer, Keppel’s, Singapore)
Sameer (PhD Student, Simons Rochester)
Kanu (PhD Student, MIT)
Deb (Civil Engineer, Florida)
Vyom (Surveyor, ABS)
Priya (Second year MBA IIM Cal)
Harish (Phd Student, MIT)
Ayush (PhD Student, Purdue)
Anup (PhD Student, Virginia Tech.)
Kishore (PhD Student, OSU)
Vishal (PhD Student, Idaho)
Well, the list is really long…. And I better restrict them to my memory.
However, my sincere wishes to all those people who took the same path from hostel to the departments, who appreciated all those great movies at OAT, who enjoyed the same Saarang, and yet, look so different now. But one thing can never change - "the spirit of IITM".
Saturday, March 25, 2006
NERVOUS OR EXCITED
So finally the ISB welcome kit is in my hands. And the alarm clock also. With just a couple of weeks left before I enter the corridors of ISB, I find myself a bit excited as well as a bit nervous. “Excited” because ISB is really great place to live for a year and “nervous” because I am not in touch with formal studies for quite some time.
The profiles of the incoming students are simply amazing. Most of them have amazing work experience, and in many cases this work experience is backed up with master’s degrees from the top universities of the world. Most of the people have great GMAT scores and have decided to choose ISB over other good universities. The profile details will soon be in the website of ISB and I need not go through them now. The diversity that their experience will bring in will definitely have a great impact during the class discussions and group studies. I was under the impression that there are not many people from the maritime sector but the admission committee and the rising number of aspirants from this sector has proved me wrong. There are quite a number of people from ship manufacturing, ship operations and merchant navy.
With the courses list already declared, I am proud to say that I am going to learn from the people who are the best in business education. For years to come, I can boast of being a student of some of the most respected business minds of the globe. I just hope that I can play the role of a worthy student. Anyway, that is for time to answer.
The profiles of the incoming students are simply amazing. Most of them have amazing work experience, and in many cases this work experience is backed up with master’s degrees from the top universities of the world. Most of the people have great GMAT scores and have decided to choose ISB over other good universities. The profile details will soon be in the website of ISB and I need not go through them now. The diversity that their experience will bring in will definitely have a great impact during the class discussions and group studies. I was under the impression that there are not many people from the maritime sector but the admission committee and the rising number of aspirants from this sector has proved me wrong. There are quite a number of people from ship manufacturing, ship operations and merchant navy.
With the courses list already declared, I am proud to say that I am going to learn from the people who are the best in business education. For years to come, I can boast of being a student of some of the most respected business minds of the globe. I just hope that I can play the role of a worthy student. Anyway, that is for time to answer.
Thursday, March 23, 2006
WHAT SAY YOU
We, as Indians are not unaware of the kind of hype the western world has created to guard and glorify their History. They go on to say that Kautilya is the “Machiavelli of India” or Kalidas is the “Shakespeare of India”. Western tourists often refer to Kashmir as the “Switzerland of India” and Kerela as the "Venice of the east"
But people who have really read both the “Arthashastra” and “The prince” have good reasons to believe that comparing Machiavelli with Kautilya is as vague as comparing the king elephant of the medieval period with the mighty dinosaur of the past (the order being maintained). Machiavelli is great, no doubt, and “The prince” is one of the greatest treatises on politics and diplomacy, yet it can never be compared to the depth and vastness of Arthashastra. The depth of the topics that Kautilya has covered in Arthashastra ranges from economics to biological warfare with an immaculate mix of psychology and ruthlessness. Such is the practicality of Arthashastra that great Indian dynasties of all eras have always referred Arthashastra as a guiding light not only to politics and economics, but also to warfare and judiciary.
Some instances of biological warfare described in Arthashastra are as follows
- A powder made from fireflies and the eyes of wild boar can endow soldiers with night vision.
- Shoes made of camel skin smeared with a serum made from the flesh of owls and vultures can help soldiers walk hundreds of miles during a war without feeling tired.
- Complete formula for gonorrhea producing smoke and four different recipes for leprosy spreading.
- The powder of several herbs, mixed with clarified butter is a recipe against hunger….effective for a month.
- Methods to develop night vision for soldiers.
Infact DRDO is studying these things in detail to employ the theories of Arthashastra into modern day warfare
History is written by winners and maintained by hype. Indian people in general and historians in particular terribly lack in their skills to diplomatic hype. And this has resulted in our acceptance of the inferiority of the Indian greats. So next time when you hear statements like “Kautilya is the Machiavelli of India” make sure you correct the speaker. I don’t urge anyone to refer to Machiavelli as the “Kautilya of Europe”. Just that each of the names should have their own distinct respect and identity.
But people who have really read both the “Arthashastra” and “The prince” have good reasons to believe that comparing Machiavelli with Kautilya is as vague as comparing the king elephant of the medieval period with the mighty dinosaur of the past (the order being maintained). Machiavelli is great, no doubt, and “The prince” is one of the greatest treatises on politics and diplomacy, yet it can never be compared to the depth and vastness of Arthashastra. The depth of the topics that Kautilya has covered in Arthashastra ranges from economics to biological warfare with an immaculate mix of psychology and ruthlessness. Such is the practicality of Arthashastra that great Indian dynasties of all eras have always referred Arthashastra as a guiding light not only to politics and economics, but also to warfare and judiciary.
Some instances of biological warfare described in Arthashastra are as follows
- A powder made from fireflies and the eyes of wild boar can endow soldiers with night vision.
- Shoes made of camel skin smeared with a serum made from the flesh of owls and vultures can help soldiers walk hundreds of miles during a war without feeling tired.
- Complete formula for gonorrhea producing smoke and four different recipes for leprosy spreading.
- The powder of several herbs, mixed with clarified butter is a recipe against hunger….effective for a month.
- Methods to develop night vision for soldiers.
Infact DRDO is studying these things in detail to employ the theories of Arthashastra into modern day warfare
History is written by winners and maintained by hype. Indian people in general and historians in particular terribly lack in their skills to diplomatic hype. And this has resulted in our acceptance of the inferiority of the Indian greats. So next time when you hear statements like “Kautilya is the Machiavelli of India” make sure you correct the speaker. I don’t urge anyone to refer to Machiavelli as the “Kautilya of Europe”. Just that each of the names should have their own distinct respect and identity.
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
BALL GAME THEORY
Brian Dyson (CEO of Coca Cola Enterprises from 1959-1994) once said-
Imagine life as a game in which you are juggling five balls in the air. You name them - work, family, health, friends, and spirit - and you're keeping all of these in the air. You will soon understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back. But the other four balls - family, health, friends, and spirit are made of glass. If you drop one of these, they will be irrevocably scuffed, marked, nicked, damaged, or even shattered. They will never be the same. You must understand that and strive for balance in your life.
Imagine life as a game in which you are juggling five balls in the air. You name them - work, family, health, friends, and spirit - and you're keeping all of these in the air. You will soon understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back. But the other four balls - family, health, friends, and spirit are made of glass. If you drop one of these, they will be irrevocably scuffed, marked, nicked, damaged, or even shattered. They will never be the same. You must understand that and strive for balance in your life.
Monday, March 20, 2006
THE INDIAN B-SCHOOL SALARY RACE
Getting an admission into a top b-school (I will restrict my decision to Indian b-school scenario) is associated with immense satisfaction and self confidence. Aspirants have always visualized b-schools as a ticket to the amazing world of 7-digit salaries. But, as I take a closer look into the life of my friends who have completed or pursuing their MBA, I find the not-so-rosy picture of life. I am not talking about an amazingly smart finance whiz-kid who lands up with a jackpot in a top investment banking job. But my analysis is more into the average students of the top schools. Well, the word “average” is perhaps not correct, as each of these students was amongst the best in all his/her endeavors till date. Yet, most of these people are not satisfied enough to remain happy and content in life. Personally, I feel that the society is responsible for this –
(1) From the day a student lands up in his school, he is exposed to the monetary mindset of the b-school culture. The moment the student lands up in the b-school, he/she tries to follow the footstep of the senior who landed up with the so-called “86 Lakh” job in London.He decides to choose his courses and direction without realizing what his real aspirations are. In this process he loses his originality and develops a vague sense of narrow minded competitive spirit. The concept of peer-learning turns into cut throat competition towards the big job at the cost of much-important soft skills. The modern day Indian b-school student feels that I-banking or a consultant big-shot is the end of the world and the rest of the jobs are only the leftovers meant for the not-so-smart people. And in this assumption, they make a big mistake. They carry this tendency to their job and cannot find the contentment in spite of frequent job changes.
(2) Secondly, the Indian press has the bad habit of exaggerating the B-School salaries in the mind of the public. The CTCs are portrayed as salaries and the dollars are converted to rupees. The real definition of CTC never reaches the public and in this process the complete picture looks completely skewed. Friends, peoples and relatives pressurize a student to target the highest pay without having any idea of what the real nature of the job is?
But what really aggravates the sorry state of affairs is when these schools compete against each other to grasp the highest paid CTC. As if it is a salary race and winning the highest salary is like winning the gold medal.
When will the Indian B-schools grow up? When will they help the students to realize their real aspirations and achieve their true potential instead of competing with each other for the highest CTC? When will they help the students to realize that I-Banking and consultancy is just a part of the real life industry scenario?
As a great supporter of the Indian b-schools I really hope that our schools find global reputation. But in this journey, they need to work in close co-operation with each other instead of running the salary race. They should also encourage students to follow their interests instead of joining the bandwagon. As far as money is considered, it is there in every field and in every industry. Just depends on the individual how much he can grasp depending on his passion and aspirations.
(1) From the day a student lands up in his school, he is exposed to the monetary mindset of the b-school culture. The moment the student lands up in the b-school, he/she tries to follow the footstep of the senior who landed up with the so-called “86 Lakh” job in London.He decides to choose his courses and direction without realizing what his real aspirations are. In this process he loses his originality and develops a vague sense of narrow minded competitive spirit. The concept of peer-learning turns into cut throat competition towards the big job at the cost of much-important soft skills. The modern day Indian b-school student feels that I-banking or a consultant big-shot is the end of the world and the rest of the jobs are only the leftovers meant for the not-so-smart people. And in this assumption, they make a big mistake. They carry this tendency to their job and cannot find the contentment in spite of frequent job changes.
(2) Secondly, the Indian press has the bad habit of exaggerating the B-School salaries in the mind of the public. The CTCs are portrayed as salaries and the dollars are converted to rupees. The real definition of CTC never reaches the public and in this process the complete picture looks completely skewed. Friends, peoples and relatives pressurize a student to target the highest pay without having any idea of what the real nature of the job is?
But what really aggravates the sorry state of affairs is when these schools compete against each other to grasp the highest paid CTC. As if it is a salary race and winning the highest salary is like winning the gold medal.
When will the Indian B-schools grow up? When will they help the students to realize their real aspirations and achieve their true potential instead of competing with each other for the highest CTC? When will they help the students to realize that I-Banking and consultancy is just a part of the real life industry scenario?
As a great supporter of the Indian b-schools I really hope that our schools find global reputation. But in this journey, they need to work in close co-operation with each other instead of running the salary race. They should also encourage students to follow their interests instead of joining the bandwagon. As far as money is considered, it is there in every field and in every industry. Just depends on the individual how much he can grasp depending on his passion and aspirations.
Saturday, March 18, 2006
THE NIGHT SKY
Whenever I look up towards the cloudless night sky, my eyes reflexively try to locate the visible constellations. Although I am not an avid star gazer, yet I derive immeasurable satisfaction from these constellations. Indefinite vastness has always been a source of inspiration for me and when I look at the night sky I can feel a sense of mystical appreciation for the beauty of Gods creation. Years move ahead, life gets new dimensions, relationships get redefined, prospectives get refined, priorities get modified.....yet when I look up I am amazed to find the same set of constellations......these constellations never agree to relocate their positions. And at times, these constellations bring back memories which have long erased from recent memory and take us through the corridors of the past. Those sweet moments will never come again.....but as long as these constellations dont change their position, I can always relive the past.
LETS SEE THE WORLD TOGETHER- 9
Let me wrap up the rest of the items of this "Lets see the world together" series.
1) Consultants- The vastness of this industry ensures that consultants are also very much into the game. All the organisations I have mentioned in my earlier posts hire consultants not only from the branded consultancies (I mean the likes of Mckinsey, BCG, AT kearney, KPMG etc) but also individual consultants who have carved a brand out of their names. The range of these consultants is simply too diversified... ranging from technical consultancy for a ultra modern vessel to financial consultancy deciding merger between two shipping companies.
2) Financial organisations- The kind of monetary involvement of this sector demands close links with all the major banks of the world. Often these banks hire people who have a combined knowledge of shipping and finance..... people who can understand both these trends.
Apart from banks there are insurance clubs (normally refered to as P&I clubs, for ex. North of England) . Just as we insure our vehicles, all the maritime structures are insured too. And in the unfortunate incident of any maritime accidents, organisations look to recover back the loss through these insurance organisations. However this is not as easy as it looks as it can sometimes involve serious legal battles. Maritime lawyers are hence highly valued.
3) Government organisations and legal bodies - We have organisations like USCG(US Coast guard) and similar bodies who have the resposibility to contr0l the waters of respective nations. We can also find maritime police or navy protecting the coastline of a country.
IMO is an international body which is supposed to regulate and control all the maritime related activities. How does it sound to be termed as "IMO consultant"? They deal with numerous issues including SOLAS (safety of life at sea) and MARPOL (marine pollution).
Respective countries have their own regulatory bodies. Ministry of shipping, DG shipping, Merchantile Marine Department(MMD) are top regulatory bodies in India.
4) Port authorities- Ports are the places where the cargo loading or discharging takes place. There are some remarkable ports like Singapore, Amsterdam, Antwerp etc. I was really amazed to see the number of ships that can be accommodated in ports like Antwerp and Amsterdam....the count will not be less than a thousand ships at a time. The last thing which one will like to experience in life is to find oneself lost in any of these ports and I was one of those unfortunate persons. It took a real hard day's work to locate the ship which I was supposed to board.
5) Research Organisations-There are numerous R&D institutes to aid all the organisations. For instance we have WoodsHole Oceanographic Insitute (MIT), KRISO (Korean Oceanographic insitute), NIOT (National institute of Ocean Technology) etc. Number of universities like University of Michigan also have quite remarkable maritime research institutes.
I think I have tried my best to cover most of the aspects of the maritime sector (although to very minor extent).
1) Consultants- The vastness of this industry ensures that consultants are also very much into the game. All the organisations I have mentioned in my earlier posts hire consultants not only from the branded consultancies (I mean the likes of Mckinsey, BCG, AT kearney, KPMG etc) but also individual consultants who have carved a brand out of their names. The range of these consultants is simply too diversified... ranging from technical consultancy for a ultra modern vessel to financial consultancy deciding merger between two shipping companies.
2) Financial organisations- The kind of monetary involvement of this sector demands close links with all the major banks of the world. Often these banks hire people who have a combined knowledge of shipping and finance..... people who can understand both these trends.
Apart from banks there are insurance clubs (normally refered to as P&I clubs, for ex. North of England) . Just as we insure our vehicles, all the maritime structures are insured too. And in the unfortunate incident of any maritime accidents, organisations look to recover back the loss through these insurance organisations. However this is not as easy as it looks as it can sometimes involve serious legal battles. Maritime lawyers are hence highly valued.
3) Government organisations and legal bodies - We have organisations like USCG(US Coast guard) and similar bodies who have the resposibility to contr0l the waters of respective nations. We can also find maritime police or navy protecting the coastline of a country.
IMO is an international body which is supposed to regulate and control all the maritime related activities. How does it sound to be termed as "IMO consultant"? They deal with numerous issues including SOLAS (safety of life at sea) and MARPOL (marine pollution).
Respective countries have their own regulatory bodies. Ministry of shipping, DG shipping, Merchantile Marine Department(MMD) are top regulatory bodies in India.
4) Port authorities- Ports are the places where the cargo loading or discharging takes place. There are some remarkable ports like Singapore, Amsterdam, Antwerp etc. I was really amazed to see the number of ships that can be accommodated in ports like Antwerp and Amsterdam....the count will not be less than a thousand ships at a time. The last thing which one will like to experience in life is to find oneself lost in any of these ports and I was one of those unfortunate persons. It took a real hard day's work to locate the ship which I was supposed to board.
5) Research Organisations-There are numerous R&D institutes to aid all the organisations. For instance we have WoodsHole Oceanographic Insitute (MIT), KRISO (Korean Oceanographic insitute), NIOT (National institute of Ocean Technology) etc. Number of universities like University of Michigan also have quite remarkable maritime research institutes.
I think I have tried my best to cover most of the aspects of the maritime sector (although to very minor extent).
Friday, March 17, 2006
LETS SEE THE WORLD TOGETHER- 8
Most of the things which I have described earlier are more or less linked with ships. So let me take the discussion towards offshore companies. Technip, Keppel offshores, Mcdermott, Halliburton, Hyundai offshores, Schlumberger etc are some of the biggest names in this segment. Some of these companies restrict themselves to the construction segment while others are very much into offshore oil and gas production. Thus they share a natural bond with the oil companies. Some leading oil majors also have their own offshore segment just like they have their own ships.
Such companies offer a wide range of products and technologies in the subsea area like subsea pipelines, umbilicals, riser systems, and remotely operated vehicles. They carry out subsea constructions, fabricate platforms etc. Some of these companies have their own yards like Hundai offshores in S.Korea while Technip has such yards in US and Finland.
One should have a very sound understanding of the theories of structural engineering as well as ocean engineering to understand the technical aspects of offshore structures. And the business nexus of the offshore giants with oil majors and shipping companies has got to be really interesting.
It is really nice to see the number of bloggers on such a rise.
Such companies offer a wide range of products and technologies in the subsea area like subsea pipelines, umbilicals, riser systems, and remotely operated vehicles. They carry out subsea constructions, fabricate platforms etc. Some of these companies have their own yards like Hundai offshores in S.Korea while Technip has such yards in US and Finland.
One should have a very sound understanding of the theories of structural engineering as well as ocean engineering to understand the technical aspects of offshore structures. And the business nexus of the offshore giants with oil majors and shipping companies has got to be really interesting.
It is really nice to see the number of bloggers on such a rise.
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
LETS SEE THE WORLD TOGETHER- 7
Let me discuss something about the "classification societies" today.
So shipyard makes the ships.....fine. Ship owners run ships...fine. Manufacturing companies provide all the machineries to the shipyard during construction process...fine. But then, there has to be some guidelines to ensure that all the technical details of the ship are safe enough to endure the severest of conditions. Rough seas, freezing environments, pirates, fire,unpredictable machinery failures..... are very few examples of the problems which these maritime structures face regularly.
Here in comes the role of classification societies. Such organisations are entrusted the complete power to regulate the technical requirements of the ships. The very steel from which the ship is constructed from, the machineries, life saving equipment like lifeboats and rescue boats, fire fighting systems, cargo loading and discharge equipment..... almost every part of a ship or a maritime structure is approved by these organisations.
The leading classification societies have offices through out the world and people who work for such organisations are technically very qualified and are designated surveyors. Thus a surveyor is a very powerful postion insofar as technical aspect of maritime sector is considered.
Some of the leading classification societies are
1) American Bureau of Shipping (ABS).... USA
2) Lloyds Register of Shipping (LRS).....UK
3) Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (NK).......Japan
4) Germanischers Lloyd (GL).....Germany
5) Bureau Veritas (BV)..... France
6) Korean Register of Shipping....Korea
Most of these classification societies have their presence in India also. In fact, India also has a classification society named Indian Register of Shipping (IRS). Although it is not a top classification society, yet its surveyors are quite respected within the country. I really hope IRS develops a global approach to challenge the big names.
So shipyard makes the ships.....fine. Ship owners run ships...fine. Manufacturing companies provide all the machineries to the shipyard during construction process...fine. But then, there has to be some guidelines to ensure that all the technical details of the ship are safe enough to endure the severest of conditions. Rough seas, freezing environments, pirates, fire,unpredictable machinery failures..... are very few examples of the problems which these maritime structures face regularly.
Here in comes the role of classification societies. Such organisations are entrusted the complete power to regulate the technical requirements of the ships. The very steel from which the ship is constructed from, the machineries, life saving equipment like lifeboats and rescue boats, fire fighting systems, cargo loading and discharge equipment..... almost every part of a ship or a maritime structure is approved by these organisations.
The leading classification societies have offices through out the world and people who work for such organisations are technically very qualified and are designated surveyors. Thus a surveyor is a very powerful postion insofar as technical aspect of maritime sector is considered.
Some of the leading classification societies are
1) American Bureau of Shipping (ABS).... USA
2) Lloyds Register of Shipping (LRS).....UK
3) Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (NK).......Japan
4) Germanischers Lloyd (GL).....Germany
5) Bureau Veritas (BV)..... France
6) Korean Register of Shipping....Korea
Most of these classification societies have their presence in India also. In fact, India also has a classification society named Indian Register of Shipping (IRS). Although it is not a top classification society, yet its surveyors are quite respected within the country. I really hope IRS develops a global approach to challenge the big names.
Monday, March 13, 2006
LETS SEE THE WORLD TOGETHER- 6
Manufacturing and shipping share a very strong nexus. Shipbuilding and technical ship management is heavily dependent on numerous manufacturing companies for the successful completion of a ship, or an offshore platform or any other floating structure. Manufacturing industries also find a very niche market in the maritime sector.
Can you guess the number of manufacturing companies that are involved in the construction of a ship? I never made an exact count but my idea of approximation suggests that the number will not be less than a thousand (if we take into picture all the details).I will not go into the intricate details of the ship machineries and will restrict myself to a few examples.
Lets say, the "main engine" of a ship. The shipyard has to buy main engines (this is the engine which provides the propulsion power to the ship) from the maufacturing company which specialises on building main engines. Man B&W is one company which is seriously involved in the main engine business and has collaborated with the leading yards of the world for the win-win aspirations. For instance, Man B&W works closely with Hyundai Heavy Industries to form "Hyundai Man B&W" which is a big success in S.Korean shipbuilding industry. Similarly we can find "Mitsui Man B&W" in Japan and similarly in other countries.
Similarly, ABB turbochargers; Cummins, Hyundai, STX auxiliary engines; RWO oily water separators;Electrolux appliances like washing machines;Tanktech incinerators; Frank Mohn and Shinko pumps etc. are quite popular in the shipbuilding sector. It is really difficult to provide a comprehensive report on all the machineries through this post. However, I am trying to compile all the details into some kind of book.(Although the compilation might take some time).
What makes the complete scenario such an interesting affair is the depth of business that is associated with the whole process. However, both sociology and human experience have always worked together to create a feasible work ambience that makes such a complex thing possible. Also some credit to modern day MBA grads that try to get in more efficiency to the system.
Can you guess the number of manufacturing companies that are involved in the construction of a ship? I never made an exact count but my idea of approximation suggests that the number will not be less than a thousand (if we take into picture all the details).I will not go into the intricate details of the ship machineries and will restrict myself to a few examples.
Lets say, the "main engine" of a ship. The shipyard has to buy main engines (this is the engine which provides the propulsion power to the ship) from the maufacturing company which specialises on building main engines. Man B&W is one company which is seriously involved in the main engine business and has collaborated with the leading yards of the world for the win-win aspirations. For instance, Man B&W works closely with Hyundai Heavy Industries to form "Hyundai Man B&W" which is a big success in S.Korean shipbuilding industry. Similarly we can find "Mitsui Man B&W" in Japan and similarly in other countries.
Similarly, ABB turbochargers; Cummins, Hyundai, STX auxiliary engines; RWO oily water separators;Electrolux appliances like washing machines;Tanktech incinerators; Frank Mohn and Shinko pumps etc. are quite popular in the shipbuilding sector. It is really difficult to provide a comprehensive report on all the machineries through this post. However, I am trying to compile all the details into some kind of book.(Although the compilation might take some time).
What makes the complete scenario such an interesting affair is the depth of business that is associated with the whole process. However, both sociology and human experience have always worked together to create a feasible work ambience that makes such a complex thing possible. Also some credit to modern day MBA grads that try to get in more efficiency to the system.
Saturday, March 11, 2006
LETS SEE THE WORLD TOGETHER -5
In my previous posts of this series, I have so far dicussed three kind of organisations... namely the oil majors, ship owners and the shipyards. In short, shipyards either make, repair or break ships, shipowners buy these ships and oil majors either hire these ships or directly buy from the yards to transfer their products from one place to another.
But I have not discussed how these ships run. I mean who are the people who are involved in the day to day sailing of the ships. The people who run these ships (micro level) are termed mechant navy officers. Normally, in a sailing ship, there are two departments... the deck department and the engine room department. The deck department is led by the chief officer and the engine room top guy is the chief engineer.The chief officer is responsible for all kinds of cargo operations like cargo loading and discharge. The chief engineer is resposible for the engine side of the ship. Both these people are assisted by a series of other officers who are well aware of the heirarchy level.( Democracy is not a good idea in a ship. thats what I feel at the moment). Now both the people report to the captain of the ship who is the master of the ship.In other words the ship is under the command of the captain, who is responsible for the safety of the ship. The captain reports to the technical service team of the shipping company presenting all the details of the happenings of the ship.In case the ship faces any problem (lets say her rudder failed, or the main engine is not in good shape), the captain informs this to the shore based technical team and the members of the technical team (often designated as superintendents) bear the responsibilty to get back the things into shape by dealing with the respective technicians and helping them to reach the ship.
There are various manning companies whom the shipping companies provide the responsibility to find suitable officers for the fleet. It is really nice that most of these manning companies are India centric considering the professionalism and worth of the Indian officers. Two of the best known examples are Executive ship management doing the manning for British Petroleum ships while OMCI doing the same thing for the US tanker major OMI.
Thus with this post I complete the discussion on merchant navy and day to day technical management of ships.
But I have not discussed how these ships run. I mean who are the people who are involved in the day to day sailing of the ships. The people who run these ships (micro level) are termed mechant navy officers. Normally, in a sailing ship, there are two departments... the deck department and the engine room department. The deck department is led by the chief officer and the engine room top guy is the chief engineer.The chief officer is responsible for all kinds of cargo operations like cargo loading and discharge. The chief engineer is resposible for the engine side of the ship. Both these people are assisted by a series of other officers who are well aware of the heirarchy level.( Democracy is not a good idea in a ship. thats what I feel at the moment). Now both the people report to the captain of the ship who is the master of the ship.In other words the ship is under the command of the captain, who is responsible for the safety of the ship. The captain reports to the technical service team of the shipping company presenting all the details of the happenings of the ship.In case the ship faces any problem (lets say her rudder failed, or the main engine is not in good shape), the captain informs this to the shore based technical team and the members of the technical team (often designated as superintendents) bear the responsibilty to get back the things into shape by dealing with the respective technicians and helping them to reach the ship.
There are various manning companies whom the shipping companies provide the responsibility to find suitable officers for the fleet. It is really nice that most of these manning companies are India centric considering the professionalism and worth of the Indian officers. Two of the best known examples are Executive ship management doing the manning for British Petroleum ships while OMCI doing the same thing for the US tanker major OMI.
Thus with this post I complete the discussion on merchant navy and day to day technical management of ships.
Friday, March 10, 2006
LETS SEE THE WORLD TOGETHER -4
Ever wondered why a ship is called "she". Well, once you have a feel of those curvaceous bodies, you just cannot resist giving a feminine image to these ships. They are strikingly beautiful and creating such objects of beauty from plates of steel has got to be a very precious art - the art which we call "shipbuilding". There are some really great shipyards in this world and I am lucky to get a chance to spend some time in some of these places. I hope you must have got an idea why I am writing all this now. Yup.. I am just trying my part to provide a brief description about shipyards.
There are three kind of shipyards...
(1) New building shipyards (Ex. Daewoo, Hyundai, Samsung, COSCO, Mitsubishi, Onomichi......). These yards mostly concentrate on new ship constructions.
(2) Ship repair yards (Ex. Hyundai Vinashin, Izar Fene, Keppels, COSCO, Cochin.....).These yards normally deal with drydockings and repair of ships. Ever heard of collision between two ships... I have seen ships having collisions and it is normal in shipping environment... And this is one of those eventualities where in comes the role of the repair yards.
(3) Ship breaking yards (Ex. Alang) This yard in Gujarat is perhaps the biggest ship breaking yard in the country. Such yards specialise in breaking the ship to renew the steel and the various machineries that the ship was fitted with.
Each of these yards have their own speciality and capability. For instance, Korean and Japanese yards are now the leaders in tanker,container,LNG and bulk carrier constructions while European yards are more or less concentrated on passenger liners and cruise liner constructions. Yards like Hyundai build more than 100 ultra sophisticated ships per year.
The very concept of building a ship from scratch demands huge manpower and tremendous man management skills (which I doubt if any mangement schools can teach). As they say such skills has to be in the genes. Ofcourse such shipyards employ very experienced consultants who have a great idea and foresight of the maritime future. It is interesting to note that the ship building trends are highly influenced by the steel and oil market, apart from the rules and regulations that regulate the technical requirements of safe shipping.
There exists a close relationship between ship owners and yards. After all, these yards make these ships while the ship owners run these ships. The very process of negotiations between the shipyards and the ship owners is a great skill which only experience can teach.
There are three kind of shipyards...
(1) New building shipyards (Ex. Daewoo, Hyundai, Samsung, COSCO, Mitsubishi, Onomichi......). These yards mostly concentrate on new ship constructions.
(2) Ship repair yards (Ex. Hyundai Vinashin, Izar Fene, Keppels, COSCO, Cochin.....).These yards normally deal with drydockings and repair of ships. Ever heard of collision between two ships... I have seen ships having collisions and it is normal in shipping environment... And this is one of those eventualities where in comes the role of the repair yards.
(3) Ship breaking yards (Ex. Alang) This yard in Gujarat is perhaps the biggest ship breaking yard in the country. Such yards specialise in breaking the ship to renew the steel and the various machineries that the ship was fitted with.
Each of these yards have their own speciality and capability. For instance, Korean and Japanese yards are now the leaders in tanker,container,LNG and bulk carrier constructions while European yards are more or less concentrated on passenger liners and cruise liner constructions. Yards like Hyundai build more than 100 ultra sophisticated ships per year.
The very concept of building a ship from scratch demands huge manpower and tremendous man management skills (which I doubt if any mangement schools can teach). As they say such skills has to be in the genes. Ofcourse such shipyards employ very experienced consultants who have a great idea and foresight of the maritime future. It is interesting to note that the ship building trends are highly influenced by the steel and oil market, apart from the rules and regulations that regulate the technical requirements of safe shipping.
There exists a close relationship between ship owners and yards. After all, these yards make these ships while the ship owners run these ships. The very process of negotiations between the shipyards and the ship owners is a great skill which only experience can teach.
Thursday, March 09, 2006
LETS SEE THE WORLD TOGETHER -3
Now that shipping majors are done with, I think I can come to the exclusive zone of the oil majors. Almost all the oil majors hold respectable positions in the Fortune 500 list. Starting from oil exploration to international trade, nothing is spared by these giant organisations.
Be it independent governments or nations, be it shipping companies and financers, or be it environmental regulatory bodies...oil majors deal with almost the complete range of maritime extent. No wonders, almost all possible job profiles can be explored within these companies.
While companies like BP, Shell, Totalfinalelf have headquarters in UK and Europe, those like Chevron Texaco are US based. Not to forget our very own Reliance energy, ONGC and IOCL.
Quite a bit of travelling is reserved for the employees of such organisations and rising within the heirarchy level of an oil major can be one of the most satisfying experiences of one's career.
I will close this post now....not because I feel the discussion on oil majors is over, but because no amount of article can be successful in providing an complete analysis of the domain of oil majors.
Be it independent governments or nations, be it shipping companies and financers, or be it environmental regulatory bodies...oil majors deal with almost the complete range of maritime extent. No wonders, almost all possible job profiles can be explored within these companies.
While companies like BP, Shell, Totalfinalelf have headquarters in UK and Europe, those like Chevron Texaco are US based. Not to forget our very own Reliance energy, ONGC and IOCL.
Quite a bit of travelling is reserved for the employees of such organisations and rising within the heirarchy level of an oil major can be one of the most satisfying experiences of one's career.
I will close this post now....not because I feel the discussion on oil majors is over, but because no amount of article can be successful in providing an complete analysis of the domain of oil majors.
Wednesday, March 08, 2006
LETS SEE THE WORLD TOGETHER -2
Before I start todays post, a few words for all the lovely ladies - Wish all of you a very very happy Womens Day
So now lets get back to the first question of my previous post.
When I was in IIT, I never had a very clear picture of the maritime world. I was under the impression that ship design and ship building was the all-in-all for a naval architect. But the reality turned out to be very different. The vastness of this industry is simply amazing. Just to name the major players.
(1) Oil Majors (like BP, Exxonmobil, Shell, Reliance, ONGC, IOCL etc.)
(2) Shipping Majors (like OMI, Teekay, Worldwide, Transatlantic, Interorient etc.)
(3) Classification societies (like American Bureau of Shipping, Det Norske Veritus, Lloyds Reister of Shipping etc.)
(4) Offshore companies (like Mcdermott, Technip etc.)
(5) Makers (Almost all fortune 500 manufacturing industries like ABB, Electrolux etc. have a coomplete section devoted to the maritime segment)
(6) Consultancy(Most of the consultancy biggies have a devoted maritime sector to cater to the needs of this segment)
(7) Merchant navy or manning companies (OMCI, Executive Ship Management etc.)
(8)Shipyards (Hyundai, Daewoo, Samsung, Mitsubishi, Keppels, Cochin Shipyard etc.)
(9) Government agencies, P&I insurance groups, banking and finance, IMO related organisations and bodies like SOLAS(Safety of Life at Sea) and MARPOL(Marine Pollution).
(10) Private consultants.
(11) Research organisations.
All the players play the game with strong symbiotic relationship with each other.
Presently I work for a shipping major (ship-owners, who own ships) . So I will begin the list of the major players with the ship owners ( who the ship owners are, what they do, with whom they do business, what is the extent of their business......)
As the name suggests, shipping companies own vessels. The cost of some of these vessels can easily cross the 500 million USD mark and often crosses 50 million USD for a mid sized ship.The fleet can be as small as one ship and can extend to scores of ships (of different sizes and shapes) for the shipping majors . Well, now that they own ships, what do they do with these ships. Here comes the concept of international shipping trade and operations which in itself a very big area of concentration. The financial deals associated with shipping is beyond the imagination of many.
(1) Tankers are more linked with oil and other liquid cargo dealings (lets say jet-fuel, naptha, various petroleum products....list is really long). Shipping companies doing business with tankers share an inseparable bond with oil majors. I will discuss my understanding of oil majors in my next post and will limit to shipping companies for the moment.
The cargo analysis of the tankers is another hot topic in shipping and involves almost all aspects of management from supply chain analysis to high level financial deals. Running these tankers (any ship, in fact) on a day to day basis introduces the concept of merchant navy and technical management.
(2) Other kinds of ships include RORO Car carriers, bulk carriers, container vessels, LNG Ships, passenger liners and ferries. But since I am not very much into these ships, I donot have a very clear picture of the non-tanker vessels. But the names of the ships are a clear indication of the type of the cargo they are associated with.
The shipping majors either build (buy) their ships in (from) the leading yards of the world. Shipbuilding is one of the most intricate arts of mankind and the technical and management skills associated with it must deserve a complete independent section.
Will bring the next player into picture in my next post...
So now lets get back to the first question of my previous post.
When I was in IIT, I never had a very clear picture of the maritime world. I was under the impression that ship design and ship building was the all-in-all for a naval architect. But the reality turned out to be very different. The vastness of this industry is simply amazing. Just to name the major players.
(1) Oil Majors (like BP, Exxonmobil, Shell, Reliance, ONGC, IOCL etc.)
(2) Shipping Majors (like OMI, Teekay, Worldwide, Transatlantic, Interorient etc.)
(3) Classification societies (like American Bureau of Shipping, Det Norske Veritus, Lloyds Reister of Shipping etc.)
(4) Offshore companies (like Mcdermott, Technip etc.)
(5) Makers (Almost all fortune 500 manufacturing industries like ABB, Electrolux etc. have a coomplete section devoted to the maritime segment)
(6) Consultancy(Most of the consultancy biggies have a devoted maritime sector to cater to the needs of this segment)
(7) Merchant navy or manning companies (OMCI, Executive Ship Management etc.)
(8)Shipyards (Hyundai, Daewoo, Samsung, Mitsubishi, Keppels, Cochin Shipyard etc.)
(9) Government agencies, P&I insurance groups, banking and finance, IMO related organisations and bodies like SOLAS(Safety of Life at Sea) and MARPOL(Marine Pollution).
(10) Private consultants.
(11) Research organisations.
All the players play the game with strong symbiotic relationship with each other.
Presently I work for a shipping major (ship-owners, who own ships) . So I will begin the list of the major players with the ship owners ( who the ship owners are, what they do, with whom they do business, what is the extent of their business......)
As the name suggests, shipping companies own vessels. The cost of some of these vessels can easily cross the 500 million USD mark and often crosses 50 million USD for a mid sized ship.The fleet can be as small as one ship and can extend to scores of ships (of different sizes and shapes) for the shipping majors . Well, now that they own ships, what do they do with these ships. Here comes the concept of international shipping trade and operations which in itself a very big area of concentration. The financial deals associated with shipping is beyond the imagination of many.
(1) Tankers are more linked with oil and other liquid cargo dealings (lets say jet-fuel, naptha, various petroleum products....list is really long). Shipping companies doing business with tankers share an inseparable bond with oil majors. I will discuss my understanding of oil majors in my next post and will limit to shipping companies for the moment.
The cargo analysis of the tankers is another hot topic in shipping and involves almost all aspects of management from supply chain analysis to high level financial deals. Running these tankers (any ship, in fact) on a day to day basis introduces the concept of merchant navy and technical management.
(2) Other kinds of ships include RORO Car carriers, bulk carriers, container vessels, LNG Ships, passenger liners and ferries. But since I am not very much into these ships, I donot have a very clear picture of the non-tanker vessels. But the names of the ships are a clear indication of the type of the cargo they are associated with.
The shipping majors either build (buy) their ships in (from) the leading yards of the world. Shipbuilding is one of the most intricate arts of mankind and the technical and management skills associated with it must deserve a complete independent section.
Will bring the next player into picture in my next post...
Tuesday, March 07, 2006
LETS SEE THE WORLD TOGETHER -1
Four years back, around this time of the year, I was one of the most confused beings on the planet. It was the final semester of my B.Tech and the usual problems...Which career path to chose...Shall I go for an MS.....Or shall I accept the software job and try for CAT the next year.....Or shall I look for a branch job in shipping... But is it possible to get a decent branch job?.. When did the last alumnus from the department go for one?....Hell lot of questions...... The only branch jobs which I could have got were those of some Indian yards... But when did these Indian yards last build a ship?... And of course the moolah part was always there to haunt..........Can I throw away one of the most lucrative software offers to join one of the Indian yards..... These questions continued until something of a kind of miracle happened and I got through one of the dream offers in international shipping.
Now that I am a part of this extremely passionate maritime industry, I feel it is a good idea to share my thoughts and experience. So the next series of posts will be devoted to two of the very basic questions that enter into the mind of a person who aspires to work in the elusive maritime sector.
1) Who are the major players in the maritime sector?
2) What career options are available in the maritime sector?
Will be back to provide an indepth analysis of the first question.
Now that I am a part of this extremely passionate maritime industry, I feel it is a good idea to share my thoughts and experience. So the next series of posts will be devoted to two of the very basic questions that enter into the mind of a person who aspires to work in the elusive maritime sector.
1) Who are the major players in the maritime sector?
2) What career options are available in the maritime sector?
Will be back to provide an indepth analysis of the first question.
Monday, March 06, 2006
BACK IN HOME
So finally... I am back in home after 8 months. In these eight months,I found myself working in S.Korea, China, Spain, Belgium and Netherlands. Great countries, great places. And I suddenly miss all the action and fun. But there is a different charm of being in home.
Life in home is so different.Unlike the busy mornings in office, a typical morning at home begins at the conventional mid day with a lovely breakfast( may be "lunch" is the right word) followed by discussions on usual topics like marriage, girls etc. And I have to really work hard to present the correct specification. I have this uncanny ability to confuse people ( or so they say) and its really interesting to apply this principle in home.....And now that I have confused all the people who "were" interested to see me taking 7 pheres, I feel a strong sense of accomplishment.
I read about President Bush's visit to ISB, and it was really inspiring. "Bush-haters" please forgive me as I am a big admirer of this man and his views on India. And I really envy the class of 2006 to have the honour to host Bush.
Time to go out....Will get back with some detail post tomorrow.
(PS: I am reachable on 9937223692)
Life in home is so different.Unlike the busy mornings in office, a typical morning at home begins at the conventional mid day with a lovely breakfast( may be "lunch" is the right word) followed by discussions on usual topics like marriage, girls etc. And I have to really work hard to present the correct specification. I have this uncanny ability to confuse people ( or so they say) and its really interesting to apply this principle in home.....And now that I have confused all the people who "were" interested to see me taking 7 pheres, I feel a strong sense of accomplishment.
I read about President Bush's visit to ISB, and it was really inspiring. "Bush-haters" please forgive me as I am a big admirer of this man and his views on India. And I really envy the class of 2006 to have the honour to host Bush.
Time to go out....Will get back with some detail post tomorrow.
(PS: I am reachable on 9937223692)
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