Shipping makes circles. From high to low. From the era of fat cows to the era of lean ones. From optimism to pessimism.

And from the all-night party to the morning headache. It makes irregular circles. Within the big circle, as it unfolds in time, other smaller -also irregular- circles seep in.

Commercial shipping serves international trade. Therefore, its fate is closely tied to the fluctuations, oscillations, and twists and turns that it presents.

All factors -economic, geopolitical, regulatory, legal, physical, etc.- that affect international trade simultaneously affect commercial shipping. They determine the demand side for ships to carry cargo.

Beyond these "external" factors, however, commercial shipping is strongly influenced by "internal" parameters. These have to do with the actions of shipowners/operators, the people who own the ships for the purpose of carrying out maritime transport work.

These people, in their effort to exploit or deal with the prevailing situation in the best possible way, make purchases of ships and orders for new constructions in shipyards or scrap older and economically unprofitable ships. In this way, they intervene dynamically in the supply of available and suitable ships for transportation. The dynamic balance, or rather imbalance, of the supply-demand polarity determines the movement of shipping in the cycle it makes.

The sector of cargo ships in commercial shipping experienced an intense cycle in the first decade of the 21st century. Intense, in the sense that the distance between the high and low point was very large. So large that many called it a "super-cycle". This characterization is also justified by the speed of the shift from upward to downward, which was unprecedented, as the time between the peak and the "bottom" proved to be remarkably short.

The book you are holding focuses on this recent shipping super-cycle that the cargo shipping industry went through (and possibly still going through as these lines are being written). This super-cycle presents all the characteristics of shipping cycles over time, but with greater intensity and energy, making it ideal for study.

It refers to the properties of this cycle, its causative factors, its side effects, and the role of the human factor. The human factor that intervenes dynamically in shaping a situation. And which is then influenced in turn, as the resulting situation reflects on its logic and mood. At the same time, this book reflects the author's personal experiences and "philosophy".

This book was not written to serve as a manual for the subject it deals with. Nor does it claim infallibility.

It records the author's opinion and approaches the topics from his own perspective.

It is mainly aimed at people who are involved in the field of shipping in one way or another, as well as students of maritime schools, who will find it very useful and enlightening, as well as those who have a general interest in commercial shipping. And it may help some to clarify various "dark" issues related to the chapter "Greek commercial shipping" and - why not - to demystify a field that is full of "taboos".

As far as the author knows, there is no similar book in Greek or international literature. Those that exist deal with the subject of the cyclicity of shipping in a rather academic way and lack the "insider" perspective of someone who is tested daily in the circles that shipping operates.

(from the author's preface)