URSABLOG: And So It Begins…

As Samuel Johnson might have said, had he been a British shipbroker based in Greece:

“Well sir [or madam], when a shipbroker is tired of Posidonia, he [or she] is tired of shipbroking.”

But Doctor Johnson was not a shipbroker, and he wasn’t based in Greece, and he wasn’t getting his suits cleaned, and shoes polished – and business cards printed – for the weeks ahead.

Posidonia has become a month-long marathon, far removed from the simple week’s exhibition when it was held in the Pagoda exhibition centre – now sadly in almost complete disrepair – opposite our office in Piraeus.

The week itself, the first week of June, is jam-packed with events and parties. But this celebration of Greek shipping has expanded.

Many of the parties that were in Posidonia week proper have now been moved to the weeks before and after, to make sure they don’t clash with the mega parties of Posidonia week.

Many people have been in town in the week just passed to avoid the crush of the parties and other visitors in order to have meaningful meetings – and lunches and dinners – with clients and contacts.

Many people who have failed to find accommodation, or just balked at the price of it, will come in the weeks following. They may not find their clients and contacts in the freshest of minds to receive them with unbridled joy by that time. The Posidonia behemoth has swallowed a Greek public holiday this year, much to the dissatisfaction of many; different kinds of spirits will be celebrated, mostly by the purveyors of vodka and gin (not to mention tequila).

And the parties overshadow everything: so popular have they become, that they have started to split and multiply. The arms race of events – singers, dancers, musicians, spectaculars – has increased to such an extent that the identity of the hosts may well be forgotten (and certainly not thanked) by the coming of the new day, let alone in the weeks that follow.

But underneath all of this, despite the fact that there is no room at any inn anywhere, that taxis will be in short supply, that the roads to and from what is now known as the Athenian riviera will be jammed from noon to midnight and beyond, that we will be running non-stop, I am not tired of Posidonia, even though this is the twelfth that I shall be attending.

This is not because I have a huge desire to party hard until dawn, or to put my liver and my brain through the wringer of excess alcohol consumption whilst grazing off canapes. No, I have real, serious reasons to enter the fray again.

Firstly, this is a celebration of Greek shipping, and it is helpful to remind myself – and others – that my commitment to the Greek shipping industry, made long before foreign shipbrokers became alive to the unique tax incentives here, was right. Greece is now, as I felt it would be twenty years ago, undoubtedly the centre of European shipping, and arguably the world, at least as far as independent shipowning and management is concerned. The fact that so many people are coming is testament to that, and we should be proud of that.

Secondly, as I firmly believe, shipping is all about relationships, and I am looking forward to catching up with not just my brother and sister brokers, either from here or abroad, but all my Greek friends: clients, contacts, former and current students, lawyers, bankers, and even the odd insurance professional. It is a perfect time to exchange news and gossip.

Finally, it is a great time to get up to date with the latest in the shipping industry: leaving aside the exhibition which I always go to, although many either through ignorance or indolence miss, there are many other events, panel discussions, forums, presentations – even the symposium – where knowledge and intelligence are shared and enhanced. This is priceless, and unique to Posidonia.

Posidonia is more about parties, and dinners, and yacht trips, and late nights, and hangovers. It is about our life in shipping.

So once again, and by popular demand I may add, here are my (updated) tips for those attending the celebrations, whether young or old, a first-timer or an old hand. Please bear in mind that I don’t always practice what I preach, but it is worth reminding myself – if no-one else – of how to approach the next couple of weeks or so.

1)       Tonight Eats Tomorrow: Remember that every glass drunk, every hour spent late into the night will take energy and brain power from the next day. Pace yourself, get some sleep. It’s a marathon not a sprint.

2)       Respect Your Hosts: Every party has a host, every event has an organiser. Greeks take hospitality very seriously, but just as much as they want to be a good and welcoming host, you should also be a good and grateful guest. Respect your hosts, and don’t take their generosity for granted, or as your birthright for simply being in the shipping industry. Make them happy as well as yourself.

3)       Don’t Get Drunk: A tough one this, but remember that what is normal in late night London, or wherever, is not acceptable at an event to which you have been invited, even with generous free-pour cocktails. If you want to party hard, do what the Greeks do: have your own fun, with your own friends, in a place of your choosing, and pay for it. This is not to say you should not party hard if your hosts are too, and encouraging you to as well. But getting blind drunk in public is not a good look.

4)       Everyone Sees Everything: Remember that shipping is a small world, and everyone knows someone who knows someone, and your actions will be noted, and commented on.

5)       Drive Carefully: Don’t drink and drive, or park indiscriminately, or generally misbehave on the roads. As Athenians are already very well aware, policing has changed here, and any misdemeanours will be punished indiscriminately, whoever you think you know, or what you know.

6)       Keep Yourself Hydrated and Well-nourished: Carry a bottle of water around, and try and have a proper meal at least once a day. You may think you are keeping yourself fed by picking off buffet tables, or passing trays, but most likely you are not.

7)       Engage With The Person You Are Talking To, and don’t scan the room around you for someone else better to talk to. This reception FOMO is very offensive and is self-defeating: you will lose the respect of whom you are talking to, and may miss out on the most valuable bit of information of the whole week because you weren’t paying attention.

8)       Always Have Enough Business Cards. Not everyone is tech savvy, and you may miss an important opportunity.

I could go on, but I hope you get my drift.

The quote I was channelling earlier is “When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life” but this is a shortened one of what he actually said, as recorded by James Boswell:

“Why, Sir, you find no man, at all intellectual, who is willing to leave London. No, Sir, when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford.”

Allow me to transpose that sentiment to Posidonia and to shipping:

“You will find nobody who has even a passing intellectual interest in shipping willing to miss Posidonia. If they are tired of Posidonia they are tired of shipping; for there is in Posidonia all that shipping can afford.”

Posidonia is not universally appealing to everyone, but for people who understand and are interested in shipping, and all its many facets, Posidonia uniquely nourishes them.

Well, that’s my story, and I’m sticking to it.

Simon Ward