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Stoller sums up the problem in shipping: Too big to Sail 🔗
1636909608  

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In other words, mega-ships like the Ever Given are a new phenomenon that are tied not to economic logic but to the consolidation of ocean carrier lines and their ability to offload risk onto counter parties. As Jensen observed, without the consolidation, “ships would likely not have grown above 12,000-14,000 TEUs [twenty-foot equivalent units].” So we’ve moved from a grid with lots of different size ships owned by different lines that could dock in lots of ports, to one dominated by hundreds of mega-ships that can only go to certain ports, all controlled by a de facto small cartel. The game in the business is to acquire market power and then use mega-ships to offload costs onto others and block new entrants.
The shipping cartel has become as dangerous and stupid as OPEC. Which means eventually this problem should solve itself, as one carrier would inevitably defect. Save for one important fact. Interlocking directorates; they're all essentially owned by each other to a degree.

I should perhaps write down my case for single-container submarine shipping.
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