The ghost ship "Flying Dutchman"

Throughout the ages seamen have reported seeing ghost ships at sea.

The most famous and legendary of all was the "Flying Dutchman". The sight of which to a sailor meant doom was imminent.

The "Flying Dutchman" was a Dutch man-of-war built in the 1700's. As the story goes she was a Dutch East India Company ship that was rounding the infamous Cape of Good Hope when she hit a severe storm. Rather than find safe harbour, the captain said he'd hold his heading until judgement day and the ship and her crew disappeared into the storm to never be seen again......

Until.....sailors started reporting sighting her all the way through to the 20th century. Even King George V claimed to have sighted her between Sydney and Melbourne in 1880 while he was on board the "HMS Inconstant". 

She was often said to be seen with dark clouds above her and she would pass across other ships bows right before something terrible happened.

Happy Halloween!

+Brad Skelton 

Which carrier wouldn't allow a marine surveyor on board their ship?

Today I had a client with a crane being loaded and shipped with one of the worlds largest RoRo shipping lines ex Brisbane. The client and his underwriters requested that a marine surveyor conduct a survey on the cargo and most importantly the lashing and securing of the cargo once on board the vessel. A fair and reasonable request and one that goes to the heart of the cargo's safe delivery, integrity and also to maritime safety in general.

To everyone's surprise and frustration, the shipping line refused to allow a marine surveyor on board their ship to conduct the survey. This is an unbelievable, arrogant and potentially risky stance adopted by the carrier and one that has caused my client to tell me to never ship cargo with them again. 

Marine Surveyors are highly qualified to inspect cargo, vessels and equipment on behalf of shippers, shipping lines and underwriters. On the waterfront they are highly respected as many of them are retired ships captains with tremendous experience who understand from first hand experience the power of the sea and it's effects on ships and cargo alike. Furthermore their ethics are considered by all as being beyond reproach and in my experience they have always conducted themselves in a neutral and highly professional manner. 

They play an essential role in shipping and one that is key to maintaining safe and high standards in maritime operations for all stakeholders and the environment. Many times they have raised concerns prior to or during loading of a ship that has potentially avoided dangerous incidents.

Any carrier who denies a marine surveyor on board their vessels in my view is short sighted, unreasonable and perhaps should not be entrusted with my clients cargo. Marine surveyors should be allowed to go anywhere and draw attention to any concerns they see. It is in EVERYONES interest to have such experienced people present to conduct a survey!

Many ships have capsized or sunk in heavy seas as the lashings on the cargo have not been correctly done or weren't secure enough to stop the cargo moving and slamming into the hull of the ship or other cargo. Several years ago a wheel loader broke it's lashings at sea during heavy weather. Every time the vessel pitched and rolled the bucket and it's teeth rammed into the hull. The machine was stowed below the waterline and eventually the teeth poked a sizable hole in the hull which lead to the entire vessel sinking.

Would anybody like to take a guess at which carrier denied my client a survey of his cargo? You can leave a comment in the field at the footer of this post.

All for now,

+Brad Skelton 

Cargo transhipment re-invented - lower handling costs and better for the environment.

+Jenny Ruffell Smith from my team recently attended a seminar hosted by the Nautical Institute.

Sea Transport spoke about a new concept for transhipment of cargo.

Costs of moving materials, such as iron ore, can be significantly increased if transport infrastructure and/or deep-water ports, are not located close to mine sties and easily accessible  Usually mining companies are faced with transporting materials long distances either by road or rail and frequently building an expensive terminal and jetty facility.

Transhipment allows smaller vessels with shallower drafts to transfer materials from a small harbour close to the mine site and then transfer to a oceangoing export vessel stationed offshore.

The latest innovation is the Floating Harbour Transhipper (FHT - pictured). A self-propelled feeder vessel berths in the FHT's aft well dock where the FHT unloads the feeder vessel and transfers materials to onboard stockpiles or straight to an ocean going vessel. 

The FHT can withstand 4m wave height, which reduces down-time, demurage and feeder damage. Also, due to the feeder and FHT both being enclosed, this ensures a dust free transshipment and dry cargo. Due to the shallow draft of the feeder, vessels can be used from very small ports eliminating the need for dredging sensitive areas, constructing large jetties and reducing port charges. It also eliminates the need for large sheds ashore for stockpiling. 

This method of transhipment also has potential to handle containers as well in remote ports.

This innovation new vessel would be very beneficial in Australia where millions of tons of raw materials are exported every year and much of it in an environmentally sensitive area and transported long distances by rail and road.

Great to see such innovative ideas gradually becoming reality.

All for now,

+Brad Skelton 

4PL "us too"...and a FREE supply chain health check.

Perhaps imitation really is the sincerest form flattery. 

My team and I launched a 4PL (Fourth party Logistics) service specifically for heavy industry and major projects earlier this year. By leveraging the enormous direct knowledge and experience we have gained in owning and operating in all manner of transport operations from cranes, trucks, freight forwarding companies, customs brokerages, warehouses, storage yards and quarantine facilities we have been able to save clients millions of dollars in some instances.

Since launching this new service we have noticed competitors, large and small, saying "us too" and now advertising they are 4PL providers when indeed most of them are not or perhaps even properly understand the concept or role they need to play.

The essence of being a 4PL provider is that you are 100% neutral. To be truly neutral you must be non-asset based. This means that you do not operate your own warehouses, trucks, planes, cranes or ships. If you do then immediately you have a conflict as you will naturally favor cargo traffic for your own assets ahead delivering the best solution for the client no matter who the provider is. This is one of the keys.

The other key is a good 4PL provider must have it's own in house IT capability and systems to support it's clients logistics and supply chain management.  Off the shelf software packages that most 3PL forwarders run do not have the modules or analytical sophistication to support a 4PL supply chain strategy.

I back my team and I to find efficiency gains and cost reductions in your supply chain whether that be domestically and/or internationally. Therefore between now and the 30th of November this year I am offering a FREE 4PL supply chain health check. There are no fees for our time if we cannot find gains for you.

If you'd like to take advantage of this offer, please email or call me. Ph: +61414362707

All for now,

+Brad Skelton 

I'm proud that this humble blog has been recognised as a key global shipping industry website!

I'd like to thank Logistics Degree for rating my blog as one of the 95 key websites for global shipping & freight. You can click on the badge below to see the full list.

Thanks to my blog readers who by subscribing and following have helped this be achieved.

Now the pressure is on more than ever to keep the entertaining, informative and thought provoking posts coming.

Stay tuned!

+Brad Skelton 

Robotics & the "OK Principle" - Two of the keys to future competitiveness.

Last Friday I attended a luncheon in Brisbane at PWC's office to meet with other mining service providers to discuss the current state of the market and best practices to grow your business in this climate.

It was unanimous that mining company expenditure in Australia is radically down and impacting most companies represented. Furthermore everyone agreed that price was the main driver of these companies in this climate and most people said their profit margins are really suffering.

What struck me was that some of the companies represented there seem to be living in hope that the market will soon improve and they will ride it out and return to pre-global financial crisis sales and profitability. I personally believe those days are gone for good and that Australian mining, like many other industries, is undergoing a transformation in a bid to be globally competitive.

So what is the transformation? There are numerous things changing rapidly however the two big ones in my view is labor and equipment costs. 

Aussie miners cannot compete globally while paying equipment operators $140k++ per annum. The reality is that equipment operators in African mines are lucky to get $1000 per month. Rio Tinto is tackling this with unmanned(robotic) Komatsu mining trucks now operating in Western Australia. The truck fleet can be operated from a control room not even situated in Australia if they wish. Rio have also moved to unmanned trains to deliver the ore to port. 

Unmanned Komatsu mining trucks

The other trend is miners are offshore outsourcing business tasks to remain competitive and importing equipment from suppliers in China, India and other countries at lower costs. At lunch I must have heard it at least 4 times where an exec complained about margin pressure due to cheaper imports and how they were trying to convince their clients about quality. Admirable and it would be nice to keep Aussies employed but WAKE UP! The quality of Chinese imports is rapidly improving so the argument about quality is just about null and void. Many of the worlds biggest equipment manufacturers now have factories in China and the quality is excellent. You know the market is currently driven by price so that is what you need to give your customers. The best price. Period! The reality is that unless Aussie suppliers either go offshore for their manufacturing or transform their factory productions lines to be completely robotic they will cease to exist. You can't swim against the tide.

It is fair to say that mining in Australia has had an incredible run of growth for a long time. A "BOOM" is what has been proclaimed. At the height of it one of my major mining equipment supplier clients told me "It's like drinking water from a fire hose and swallowing as fast we can!". The boom is over now though and my belief is that while undergoing change the market is also normalising. 

So what is normal? Pre-boom volumes and conditions. It's not their fault but many of the execs at the luncheon and their employees(many of which are still on astronomical and nonsensical salaries...which are coming back to earth) have never seen anything but boom times so they are floundering.

A sense of urgency is required for these companies to fully accept the dynamics and state of the current market and re-engineer their businesses to be able to play in it in the long term as if the current climate is the new norm. They also need to be ready for volatility as the global economy is still very sick. 

To grow and survive they will have to adopt the "OK Principle". What is that? My team are probably sick of me saying it......

"Overheads Kill!"

All for now,

+Brad Skelton 

Beautiful Day

The Depth Industries team and I are doing the MS Moonlight Walk on Friday the 18th of October to raise funds to support people with Multiple Sclerosis and help end this disease.

We would be grateful if you would sponsor us and share this blog post to help us achieve our target.

We will post updates of our progress and the walk itself on +Depth Industries .

Thank you!

+Brad Skelton 

Offshoring - A business growth strategy.

A good offshoring strategy has become a key enabler of high growth and performance in companies that recognise that their competition is increasingly coming from overseas where cost structures are lower than at home.

We truly do have a global economy now and it is not only here to stay, but developing rapidly. The internet and modern transportation methods have largely neutralised the competitive advantage that distance and geographical reach once gave companies. Free trade agreements between countries are also changing the competitive landscape with import duties and taxes less of a concern. Now people can easily and quickly source goods and services from anywhere in the world. Therefore it's not optional anymore for your company's own prices and overheads not to be internationally competitive.

In operating Depth Offshore my team and I are helping clients relieve cost pressures by up to 75% in salaries and other expenses associated with employing people locally. In some cases it has meant that our clients business has maintained its viability and then be able to go after foreign markets themselves.

Smart operators are keeping their IP development team and top minds at home and then supporting these people with a talented offshore team to enable them to cost effectively accomplish more important and dollar productive work.

Here is a short list of some more reasons to offshore:

• Offshoring is a business growth strategy.
• Fend off global competition and therefore remain viable with globally competitive labour rates.
• You can save up to 75% on salary costs and liberate working capital for business development and growth.
• If your prices are globally competitive then you can grow your company's market internationally from home.
• You do not have to be a huge corporation to offshore! SME’s are successfully doing this with Depth Offshore's assistance.
• Distance doesn’t matter any more. Free and nearly free internet technology like corporate Gmail, Skype, VOIP and video conferencing makes communicating with your offshore team like they are in the same building but on different floor. Depth Offshore will help you with this.
• Offshore to a single person or build a team.
• Be able to afford a higher performance team at home with the savings made on support roles locally.
• Increase productivity of your local staff by supporting them with an offshore team.
• Handle simple, repetitive tasks through to complex technical tasks offshore. Or handle a single project offshore.
• Flexible workforce. Scale your team size up or down rapidly and easily.
• No long term commitments.
• Great, well educated talent that will work your preferred business hours.
• Hard working intelligent people with excellent English.
• People are dedicated solely to your business so they become part of your team. +Depth Offshore does not believe in accomplishing tasks by allocating work to a pool of people.
• Free up your office space locally and lower your capex on office furniture and equipment.
• Far less administration required (no super to monitor, no workcover, insurance, payroll tax, FBT, vacation and sick leave administration, record keeping related to payroll, etc)
• Access to skills and resources that might not be currently available internally. Nearly any task can be outsourced.
• Outsource more menial/repetitive tasks to allow you to focus on the more important aspects of your business.
• Assign tasks to be completed overnight and ready for you to keep going the next day.
• Don’t have to worry about onerous employment laws and regulations. If a resource is no longer needed, or required for less time, the service is flexible.
• Faster turnaround time on some tasks as hours and days worked offshore are generally longer than most western countries.
• Good confidentiality and IP protection.
• One monthly fee that covers everything including office equipment. No additional charges or costs for superannuation, insurance or other benefits to pay and administer.
  
  

All types of work can be successfully offshored from menial tasks through to highly technical work where special skills, experience and qualifications are needed. We have helped our clients get offshore support from clerks through to mechanical engineers, CPA accountants, graphic designers and top notch computer programmers. There are so many tasks that can be offshored these days with phone and internet technology coming so far.

Click here for 99 more examples of simple tasks that can be offshored.

In my own country, Australia, politicians seem to think they can keep placing more and more responsibility and cost on employers and magically businesses can absorb this. Well they can't and many SME's are groaning under the strain! What our governments are actually doing is making it harder and more expensive to employ people locally and thus making Aussie companies unable to compete internationally.

A classic example of this is payroll tax. In Australia, if you manage to grow your business and employ more people then you get hit with a tax for doing this. Companies actually have to pay a tax calculated on the annual salary expense.

What incentive does this give companies to employ more people locally?

All for now,

+Brad Skelton 

Competing with Bustin Jieber

The rules of business as we have known them until now are being changed rapidly. The old models of a post industrialised world in numerous industries are being tipped on their head and rendered virtually useless by digitisation.

New economy businesses are leveraging digital and virtual platforms, different employment models to strip out overheads, infrastructure and the need for large capital investment. With digital platforms even a one person enterprise can competitively take on huge corporations and destroy their business model. It is no longer about how many offices and locations you have, how many people you employ or the size of your capital reserves. The internet is spawning a new breed of customers who have virtually no loyalty in "old school" terms because they can go to another competitor with one "click" and get what they need.

The new emerging generation of young entrepreneurs have a completely different mindset. They have grown up in an environment where, via the internet, they can access all types of services, groups and information for free or nearly free. Downloading apps/games, solving problems and accomplishing things for FREE in so many aspects of their life is their expectation. They also expect to get what they want NOW because more than ever before in human history they can. FREE and NOW is their default mindset and not only are they the entrepreneurs of the future they are also the customers of the future so we better be pleasing them.

They don't believe in intellectual property rights, confidentiality, corporate structures, boards of directors, business rules and regulations or even borders between countries. They don't need them. Nor do they believe in personal privacy. Their view of the world is put it all out there and grow the collective intelligence of their generation through sharing and collaboration. This is a massive contradiction to traditional business thinking.

Such a young entrepreneur on the rise is Thomas Suarez who is now about 14 years old. Check out the presentation he gave to +TEDx when he was 12.

He is a perfect example of the type of competitive force that I am talking about. If you are old school you will probably be thinking..."So what?! He writes games apps about Justin Bieber. I don't need to worry about him". Well you do!! The lessons and breakthroughs he and others like him are inexpensively gaining building fun apps helps them refine their approach to be able to attack traditional business models. If an app he writes fails then it doesn't matter as it has only cost him his time and his parents 99 bucks. A cheap education in my book!

Thomas is selling his Bustin Jieber app for 99 cents a download and it has gone completely viral. As he said he taught himself how to build the app and used a FREE software development kit to do it. Then for just $99 he is in the game competing against other huge multimedia companies putting enormous investment into finding the next killer app. Can you imagine the rate of return on that investment? Astronomical and enough to make the directors of an old school company weep.

You cannot underestimate that globally there are tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of developers and people out there right now doing exactly the same thing. There is bound to be at least a few of them thinking about your industry or business model and how they can change it, better it and ultimately defeat you.

James McQuivey and his thinking on this subject has been very influential in my own business approach. I credit him for some of the ideas in this blog and I strongly suggest you check out his work. 

All for now, 

+Brad Skelton 

3D printing technology - total game changer for many businesses and logistics providers!

I have been watching with interest the development of 3D printing technology and it's ever growing numerous applications. The impact of this technology for business and logistics companies is hard to forecast except to say it is huge!

3D printers such as the one pictured below are now available for home use at less than $2000 for a basic model.

So what are the possibilities and implications for business?

Lets say I want new water bottle cage for my +Specialized Bicycles mountain bike like this one.

Currently I could buy it online and have it shipped to me in a few days or I could go to my local bike shop to get one.

I think pretty soon the other alternative will be to buy the 3D file online and have it downloaded to my computer, just like a book from +Amazon.com or music from +Google Play or iTunes. I can then use the 3D file to print my own water bottle cage immediately at home.

So, no waiting, no freight charges, no warehouse storage, no inventory to carry for the seller, no sale for the bike shop or online retailer and the supplier of the 3D file gets paid directly. Furthermore no import duty or taxes are being collected by Customs and there is a reduced environmental impact as there is no packaging required to then dispose of later. Nor will there be any carbon emissions from the ship, plane and courier van that would have delivered the item in the old school manner.

Now a water bottle is not exactly a highly complex item but I think it illustrates the point I am making. The technology exists now to make simple items like this at home at affordable prices. 

3D printing technology is coming along in leaps and bounds and the composites now available are incredible and even allow electronic circuitry to be printed. Printing with molten metals is becoming a reality. One bloke in New Zealand is even 3D printing his own +Aston Martin DB4 in his garage! Read more

Imagine what this technology can do to improve service from your typical mobile repair guy that might come to your house to fix your dishwasher for example. If he needed a part to complete the repair he could have a 3D printer in his van, or use yours, and create the part and install it on the spot rather than ordering it and coming back later if he didn't already happen to have it on board.

The possibilities and applications are virtually endless. The efficiency gains for the end user and the supplier are immense.

For the shipping and transport industry this 3D printing technology combined with densification of products will lead to a shrinking freight task. By densification I mean things such as, flat packed furniture, data hard drives being superseded by USB sticks, CD and DVD's gradually being eliminated by digitisation and online delivery, detergents and even food being shipped as concentrates. This all means less transport capacity required and a diminishing need for customs brokers and warehouses. Freight forwarders will increasingly be transporting the printers and composites rather than the finished goods themselves.

3D printing might even prove to be a great equaliser for the rest of the world in competing against low labour cost countries such as China and India. If consumers can make their own items efficiently at home they will be looking for the best design as the manufacturing and freight costs will be pretty much eliminated. Price will be less relevant.

You really need to be thinking ahead about how 3D printing and other technologies will impact you and your business and start re-engineering the way you do things now. It will revolutionise more things than we can currently imagine.

All for now,

+Brad Skelton 

The Ocean Economy beyond shipping, fishing and tourism.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development is running a project to explore the prospects of developing an ocean based economy with particularly emphasis on emerging ocean-based industries.

The project divides the ocean economy into established marine activities and emerging activities. 

Established marine activities encompass shipping and shipbuilding, capture fisheries, traditional maritime and coastal tourism, and port facilities and handling. 

Emerging ocean-based industries include: Off-shore wind, tidal and wave energy, oil and gas extraction in deep-sea and other extreme locations; marine aquaculture; marine biotechnology; sea-bed mining for metals and minerals; ocean-related tourism and leisure activities; and ocean monitoring, control and surveillance.

The ocean economy’s long-term outlook and future contribution to global growth and jobs while managing the ocean in responsible and sustainable ways are key issues.

This project is taking a long term view to the year 2030 and will be funded by voluntary contributions by OECD members.

In a world where free trade agreements and trading blocks are now common place I am curious how the OECD will somehow view or divide the asset that is the worlds oceans beyond a country's territorial waters. Do all countries potentially share in the benefits and risks or only OECD members?

To read more on The Ocean Economy Project you can go to the OECD website.

All for now,

+Brad Skelton 

Gigonomics - The gig economy is here to stay

The global financial crisis has been the catalyst to more change in economies and the traditional way business has operated than any other single event I know of.

The reality is the market forces of globalised competition and margin pressure on companies has meant that a significant re-engineering is quietly going on. Volatility in business is now the new norm. To cope with this businesses must stay more flexible and agile than ever to manage to ride the waves successfully.

Sadly I think the days of a full time work force are numbered as this model just doesn't allow companies to compete effectively. Companies have been forced to evolve and keep costs tight by adopting "Gigonomics" and a part time/casual work force.

Gigonomics is a rapidly growing phenomenon whereby workers don't have jobs as much anymore but instead have a number of gigs with different companies to essentially derive an income equivalent to what would have once been a full time salary. Much like a rock band that relies upon stringing one gig after the other to get by. It is forecast that within ten years up to 50% of any company's team will be gigonomes.

Gigonomes are mostly contractors and consultants. They are currently mostly professionals or technical people but the trend is organically spreading into all types of roles. This group of people actually choose to work harder and frequently earn more than a traditional full time role would have typically once paid them.

Unlike their parents who are more used to the previously more secure corporate structures of 70's an 80's, Gen Y wants the freedom and are pretty comfortable with the gigonomics concept. For companies this helps them keep operating costs down and makes them more globally competitive. 

It will be a driver of innovation and the traditional foundations stones of big business weighed down with big overheads that prevent them from moving quickly will soon start to be shaken by the growing numbers gigonomes and freelancers out-maneuvering them.

Gigonomics is a win for companies and a win for the modern worker that is willing to back themselves and is here to stay.

All for now,

+Brad Skelton 

So you want to be a high performer?

The high achievers in business, the arts, sport, family life or any other pursuit realise the value of one important commodity ahead of all others.

This is a commodity that nobody gets more or less of than anybody else and it is free to us all.

I am talking about "Time".

We all get 168 hours per week so how is it that some people achieve more than others in any given week, month, year or lifetime? The person that gets the best results almost always is using time more effectively than anybody else. In other words they invest more in the time they have available and invest with greater intensity. 

So how do they do that?

Firstly...they know time is precious and finite for us all so they rarely waste it on trivial things. Once that time is gone or that moment passes it doesn't come back again so they make the most of it right there and then.

High achievers are nearly always very effective at delegation because they know by doing this they can invest more time into their top priorities. In other words...to be a high performer they must outsource the small stuff to open more time to focus on the big stuff. It's not optional.

The same goes for business. In any given week if your team has more time to focus on the companies biggest goals then it stands to reason you will beat your competitors and be more successful. Although it's become a bit of cliche I firmly believe that you shouldn't sweat the small stuff. Outsource it cost effectively so your team is focused on more important and dollar productive activity.

I am not advocating you become a complete workaholic. You still need to rest to rejuvenate yourself. It's just about finding the balance of rest (not laziness) versus work so you can perform at your best in the time you create. Top athletes and even race horses need to be rested so they can go harder when it counts. We are no different.

Pressure makes diamonds so I believe in creating this pressure by pushing yourself outside your comfort zone continually.

All for now,

+Brad Skelton 

We go deeper!

I created Depth Industries to help our customers in the new truly globalised economy where the internet & modern cargo transportation have radically changed the competitive landscape forever.

We understand that increasingly most industries are becoming commoditised so delivering our customers the service they need at world best prices is the key to our own success. To enable us to do this we have adopted the latest Cloud based technologies and lean business overhead models ourselves. 

Distance doesn't matter anymore so Depth Industries businesses aim to support our clients in conquering their chosen market not just at home, but internationally from wherever they are in the world by deeply understanding their needs and delivering on them.

To do this a few of the key things any business needs today are:

- Competitive International shipping and freight forwarding services.

- A global workforce paid at internationally competitive rates.

- Capital to grow.

That's why Depth Industries operates these companies:-

Depth Logistics is the choice of heavy industry in shipping and consulting on moving project and heavy cargo all over the planet for companies involved in earth moving, mining, construction, petrochemical and energy production related industries.

Depth Offshore is an offshore outsourcing facilitation business helping companies save money by accessing a global workforce. With internet technologies there is virtually no limit to the business tasks that can be easily and successfully outsourced offshore with our help. Savings up to 75% of a comparable western country salary can be achieved. Offshoring tasks is now one of the key enablers in high performance organisations.

Depth Global is a venture capital firm specialising in early stage start up companies run by passionate entrepreneurs playing by the new global economy rules.

+Depth Industries  can be followed on Google+ for access to special offers, deals and business insights.

I hope that Depth can be of service to you and your business soon. We would be very grateful for any opportunities you give us.

Deep enough for now,

+Brad Skelton 

What's next for The Shipping Bloke?

Sadly, in January Skelton Sherborne’s creditors voted to liquidate and wind up the company and this process is now well advanced.

I made the liquidators, S.V.Partners, aware that I had lodged a complaint(#306016 dated 23 November, 2012) with the Government Financial Ombudsmen Service about HSBC's harsh treatment of Skelton Sherborne. Without representation, and at my own expense, I am vigorously pursuing compensation for the company and I am currently awaiting the Ombudsmen's advice as to when the matter will be mediated. 

I tabled all the evidence I have about HSBC's actions to the liquidators and they have authorised me to pursue this action on behalf of the company and it's creditors. They have instructed me to keep them abreast of the progress of the complaint. Should any financial compensation be awarded by the Financial Ombudsmen then this goes to liquidators for distribution to the creditors and not myself. While I sincerely appreciate the Financial Ombudsmen advancing this matter, the pace of it's progress was not quick enough to save Skelton Sherborne from liquidation and the associated fallout for innocent people.

As I indicated in my previous post I am absolutely determined to bounce back from this setback. It is early days but I am rebounding now thanks to some great personal and professional support I have received from many people who believe in me.

So here is the venture I have been developing the past few months and I am pleased to formally announce the launch of....

While I will always be very involved in shipping and international heavy logistics, I have launched some exciting new ventures under the Depth Industries umbrella in different fields. So this will be the final post from "The Shipping Bloke" as I have a fresh new blog and updated personal website in line with these new pursuits.

In the future I will be expressing my thoughts not just about shipping but all kinds of business related ideas and issues according to the new rules of this now truly globalised economy.

Click on this link to check the new blog out, subscribe and go deeper into Depth Industries.

I have been humbled by the following The Shipping Blokes Blog has enjoyed and I hope you will follow me over to the new blog and that Depth Industries can be of service to you soon. We would be very grateful for any opportunity to help you.

Thank you and see you there!

+Brad Skelton

The Shipping Bloke