Addressing the 7th International Conference Communications & IT in Shipping New Technology and Effective Communications & IT IMPORTANCE

OF GOOD INFORMATION SOURCES What is a good information source? A simple question but how do you validate its integrity? In my experience I can point to thousands of instances where the source would appear to be correct but how do you tell? The simple answer is often that you cannot. On countless occasions you will have two or more different sources and have to choose which one is likely to be correct. If time is available to you, an email or similar enquiry to the source might be advisable but if such information is sensitive you will be lucky to receive an answer. On most occasions a busy person engaged in the marine market simply does not have the time to pursue matters further and expects the sources he partakes in to be as accurate and reliable as possible. The single biggest frustration is when you have two or more sources giving you differing information. Nobody is perfect but, in my experience, too little effort is made by many information providers to check the validity of data. The importance of good information sources can never be underestimated and has formed the backbone of my own services to BRL clients over 20 years. People ask me if what they read in the leading marine papers and journals is correct and, of course, in most cases it is. However, I myself have covered stories before in a career stretching over 40 years and, when you do interviews or investigative journalism you may only quote on the record whereas very often what you learn off the record is where the buried treasure lies. The latter stays under wraps otherwise you betray the confidence of your source. Marine information however often takes you on to another plateau. The advent of computer databases has made it possible to store treasured items of information to be utilised in a sensible manner. Clients may then select their chosen business sector and within their data it is then possible to include sensitive information for their private use. By acting in such a manner you are not necessarily betraying your source of information and because you are using varying forms it is usually impossible to verify where the data came from. Information may be classified in three simple ways static, active and live. Static information is that which is added and does not change throughout its life e.g. dimensions of a ship and other general particulars except on the rare occasions where an owner decides to convert the vessel. Active information is for clients seeking updates of a sector of the industry from time to time such as fleet lists of owners and their vessels. Live information is where your information sources have to be interpreted correctly, valued and utilised and posted at the earliest possible moment without betraying confidences.

BRL Shipping Consultants

www.brldata.com

In order to maintain BRLs own high standards we will always be prepared to correct data from sound advice and mention the source involved for the correction but never give an apology because we have acted in good faith. In the newbuilding market for instance we are circulating to subscribers every Friday shipbuilding contracts placed in the last seven days and those contracts planned or still under negotiation. This information goes out at the earliest possible moment and long before much of it reaches the columns of marine journals and newspapers. Such information is intended to give the first leads on owner intentions to order new ships and is greatly valued by those who seek to reach owner or yard at the earliest opportunity. The gap between an agreed contract and formal signing can sometimes be as long as six months. In such cases our data must seek to be as accurate as possible but sources are never revealed. You will not, for instance, get the information at such an early stage from the shipowner or shipyard. If someone asks us for verification we give a credibility rating from one to ten or follow up further for that particular client. A shipbroker working on a newbuilding deal we had reported and subscribing to our services once complained that we had exposed it and wanted to know our source fearing perhaps a mole in the company. Whilst we would confirm that was not the case we are never under an obligation to reveal our source. Indeed in this instance we asked the particular broker if he was extremely interested in all the newbuilding contracts we reported that had been brokered by competitors. Of course he replied. That is the true value of your data. Game set and match to BRL. RELIABILITY OF UP TO DATE DATA IN A WEB ENVIRONMENT One of the most important steps in data communication today has been the evolution of the web environment and dotcom systems. This has brought instant information direct to millions of people on their computers world-wide. For me it indicates one more choice of availability to users. However, if you are utilising data from a web environment it is very important that such data is updated regularly. There is now healthy competition between fixed based database systems and data available on the internet but the two compliment each other. Let no one be fooled that the internet is the ultimate solution to all your data problems. There is of course the old adage that your information source is only as good as the validity fed into it. In the early days of web technology it was not possible to make available at fast speeds downloading of data to users. Even now this is still far from accomplished. Within BRL we would offer our customers the ability to use our call and collect service whereby it is possible within a short space of time to create, download and email them the data required and ensure that it is totally up to date. One of the advantages of the web environment, however, is that you are able to provide users with background information on the latest happenings in the particular marine sectors they are interrogating. For example if you are interrogating newbuildings then this enables you to log on to an expert analysis of the latest Newbuilding contracts and their effects on the market from the very people involved providing you with the information. It may be that a future development could be a marine chat line service.

BRL Shipping Consultants

www.brldata.com

ABILITY TO TRANSLATE AND CORRECTLY INTERPRET VALIDITY OF WORLD-WIDE DATA FOR ACCESS BY THE CUSTOMER OF I find today as time progresses services to customers become more inferior. By this I do not mean other sources of data are not necessarily given in good faith but the staff with the ability to translate and correctly interpret the data is limited. Technology enhances flexibility of choice but quality expertise is becoming redundant devaluing such advances. For example whilst we in BRL would never pretend that we are one hundred percent correct on everything we take each change of data and treat it in the form of a detective investigation. No day ever passes when a member of the staff may query spelling of a name, correct owner of a vessel, correct fixture of a vessel and so forth and if between us we cannot come to a collective agreement from our own expertise then we have to try to eliminate the query by other means. What is not done is a change to that vessel if we consider the information to be dubious. Not only does this bring you closer to the customer confidence and enhance your reputation but it also demonstrates your own very much valued expertise in the field. Furthermore you can relate direct to the person involved in adding or changing the data. Attention to detail and correct interpretation of data are essential ingredients in customer relationship. Trust engenders faith in the data and most importantly your company. If you are addressing marine people you can only do this if you yourself understand all the aspects of business that your products cover. KNOW YOUR PRODUCT. Otherwise you will be caught out. Not only will you then be embarrassed but you may not be able to paper over the cracks in your information validity and often this will mean the end of a business relationship. You should never be afraid to admit that you were wrong but not many information providers do so in our experience. This simple expedient when we have been talking with customers direct has retained us business rather than lost it. We also know of examples where information submitted direct by subscribers to the information provider from within their own sphere of company operations has been ignored. This cannot be right and is not a policy employed in BRL. Where we would err on the side of caution is for data posted on company web sites. Never treat this as 100% accurate. Within BRL we keep ratings on validity and accuracy of vessel descriptions furnished on web sites. You would be surprised at the number of inaccuracies but there are also some superb ones. Egon Oldendorff, Torm, Interorient Nav.Co., to name a few. Here we reverse the roles and if we spot errors email the owners involved with changes to vessel particulars. This is not an ego trip by BRL but a way of co-operating and establishing friendships with those companies who are good enough to let us access their fleet data free of charge on the internet.

BRL Shipping Consultants

www.brldata.com

DECISION MAKING AND MARKET INFORMATION It is simply not good enough to rely on printed data or general information to create a reputable marine information service for customers. You must have available on your staff those who are engaged in the business or someone who is able to teach a person from experience about the marine industry. Marine is a specialist business and cannot be dismissed lightly. Of course I am aware that speaking to you here you are not necessarily all involved in the marine business sectors that I am addressing but the logic remains the same. How often do you complain of poor service? Who tries to sell you a marine product or service but cannot answer your marine questions? Market information must be valuable to users in a variety of ways. The ultimate goal is always accuracy and attention to detail. The information, whilst as accurate as it can possibly be, must never be seen as the ultimate solution but simply as your most reliable third party tool. Remember there is often one or more company source in front of you i.e. your own in house system, own expertise or on the spot observations. Sometimes you are observing and searching for the missing pieces of a giant jigsaw puzzle. One of the most searching questions BRL is asked is who is the actual owner of the vessel? Many owners prefer their identity to be interpreted in many ways and ownership and responsibilities for the ship are often enshrined in a sea of mystery. The only sure way of covering this is to identify all the key interested parties when at least if you are holding one of these names then you get the link to the ship. Key identities are group owner, beneficial owner, registered owner, commercial manager, technical manager, operator, operating pool, charterer. It is the task of the information provider to give you your solution. Often the jigsaw pieces fit. You have a little of the picture and the information provider completes it. You know it is authentic because suddenly all the clues point to the correct answers. Within BRL we consider it very important that the information on the world fleet should be available on a past, present and future basis. Therefore a history of the vessel from the cradle to the grave should be made available to users. For example we receive requests for all three statuses past present and future. A typical scenario might be: Who originally ordered the ship and when? What was the original newbuilding price ? When was it first sold secondhand and who was the purchaser? What was the purchase price? What are the identities of all the former owners of the ship and her ex names? When was the vessel sold for demolition and at what price? Who was the demolition purchaser and when and where was its final destination.

BRL Shipping Consultants

www.brldata.com

Thereafter the vessel is filed away as scrapped but retained in the demolition file. This merely highlights how important completeness of information is. You should ultimately be the judge of which information sources serve you best. It is not necessarily a good thing ever to be dependent on one source of data.. Always be prepared to offer tailor made services. I find one of the biggest complaints from information seekers is the fact that they have to accept standard information from the supplier or not at all. However, within BRL we are always prepared to meet, if at all possible, clients specification and take on board his or her ideas. Most importantly you should be able to offer the customer the ability to overwrite your data as he may wish to incorporate various data sources on his own database. Even if the data supplier carries a larger degree of accuracy you must never try to convince your customer that you are the superior party. In essence you are the third party tool providing the missing jigsaw pieces to aid his or her problem solution. Barry Luthwaite

BRL Shipping Consultants

www.brldata.com