Back to the Jungle

I get this question quite a bit from my friends on what exactly I do for a living. Here’s a more precise answer courtesy of Wikipedia.
I am essentially a ship broker.

“Shipbroking is involved in the sale & purchase (’S&P’), literally the buying and selling of existing or new ships (called ‘newbuildings’ in industry parlance) as well as used ships. S&P brokers discuss opportunities and market trends with shipowners, report on sales, value vessels, calculate freight earnings, advise on finance and try to find ships for specific employment opportunities. When a ship is sold brokers usually negotiate on behalf of the buyer and seller on price and terms and also provide a route to resolving any disputes which might arise.

Cargo Brokering is a part of the shipping industry. A Cargo broker is the intermediary between a charterer, who owns the cargo, and a shipowner. Shipbrokers assist charterers and shipowners in negotiating the terms and conditions of the movement of cargo. Upon completion of the freight deal, the Cargo Broker will send out a recap (recapitulation) of what both parties have agreed. This is sometimes accompanied by a charter party.”

Due to the nature of my work and my expertise, I am often in touch with traders and one of them have since roped me in on their current mining operation in Indonesia. This has being rather taxing as my last trip had me heading to 5 different countries in a span of a week.

Next week, I will be off again to Sulawesi, Indonesia to visit their mine. Although I do not exactly look forward to the trip, hopefully everything will work out for the better. For those who are unfamilar with Sulawesi, you can find the attached map here. See the word Indonesia, above it where the funny looking island is = Sulawesi.

In the old days, there are various tribes in Sulawesi, Indonesia who are both famed and feared for their reputation as “head-hunters”. Not exactly my favorite topic; but there in lies the usual Chinese saying when there is danger, there is opportunity.* Sadly, my pay package has not risen to the occasion yet, guess time for me to talk to my bosses about the situation.

*Actually most Western Readers have being reading too much into the Crisis = Danger + Opportunity thing, they truly is only Danger.