editorial
T
here are three life lessons/traits I've taken from my father that I hope carry over to the next generation: [1] Laughter is indeed the best medicine; [2] Never stick your hand under the lawn-
mower to clean out the clumps of grass without first disconnecting the spark plug; and, [3] The bigger the tragedy, the calmer I get. While the first two have no relevance to this editorial, the latter certainly does, particularly when you look to 2009 and beyond and try to make reasonable business projections in these tumultuous financial times. Sitting in New York, it feels sometimes as if I have a ringside seat to watch the end of capitalism as we know it, as wild stock market swings and a myriad of cracks in our financial foundation seriously impact nearly every corner of the business world. While it is foolhardy to try and accurately predict business conditions five years - let alone five months - out, it is a safe bet to contend that a balanced approach to this market, with stakes in the defense, commercial and scientific ends, will help to smooth the wild swings. While there is palpable uncertainty, compounded with the ushering in of a new U.S. President and administration, it seems that defense and harbor security initiatives should receive a jumpstart in 2009, fueled by some increasingly bold and alarming shipping piracy incidents around the globe, which has effectively renewed fears of maritime and subsea terrorist threats. As the price of oil - in tandem with the vigor to explore in increasingly deep and hostile offshore
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environments - has plummeted in recent months, from a mid-summer high approaching $150 a barrel to the current $50/barrel, I was reminded of a conversation I had with the head of a subsea company about a year and a half ago. At the time, he was discussing how the company was nearly wiped out with the telecommunication bust of 2001, and how the company had diversified to avoid such future problems. In nearly the same breath, he indicated his company had experienced meteoric growth since 2001, increasing annual turnover by a factor of 10, explaining that the company was looking to dramatically expand, as it was fully booked with business ... more than 90% of it in the
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Oil & Gas sector! Lesson not learned.
Gregory R. Trauthwein · trauthwein@marinelink.com · tel: 212-477-6700
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Vol. 51 ISSN 1559-7415 USPS# 023-276
No. 9
1 1 8 E a s t 2 5 t h S t re e t , N e w Yo r k , N Y 1 0 0 1 0 tel: (212) 477-6700; fax: (212) 254-6271
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