“The Blue MBA in­spires us”

Alain Pinto was born into a family of shipping entrepreneurs. He had the dream of studying the Blue MBA since the start of his career in the shipping industry in 2014. It was only going to be a matter of time until he applied. However, when it was time, the biennial intake was not ideal for his schedule so he applied to Cass Business School. He was accepted, the global covid-19 pandemic interrupted the start of his studies. Having to wait another year, he decided to pursue his original dream of participating in the Blue MBA programme.

"I am very fortunate to have been selected, and I look forward to getting my degree in 2023. It’s the design of the programme and the impact it has made in the industry that impresses me. Every one of the alumni are doing their bit to further the industry, and I, too, want to be a part of this community to make a mark in our industry."

Alain recognises that his extensive network, combined with the additional knowledge, will create new opportunities for him and aid him in reaching his 5 and 10 year goals faster than anticipated.

Alain has a background in mechanical engineering with a focus on the dry bulk sector. That lead him to various positions at Amarante Shipping, Bharat Petroleum, and Contract Resources Petrochem, India. Now he is employed by Campbell Global Ltd as finance director. Headquartered in Nassau the Campbell Group has offices worldwide. It was founded by a Scottish naval architect, who developed dry cargo vessels. Today the group possesses a fleet of 16 bulkers and is an important dry bulk operator, that transports commodities around the globe. In the future it plans to expand into the cruise and yacht industry.

In his role as Finance Director, Alain is responsible to hedge the group’s portfolio by raising debt and refinancing fleet investment strategies. He manages existing relationships and oversees business development acquisitions, as well as post-deal integration of special projects.

Currently, Alain sees that the mindset of financiers and funding houses has changed due to the disruption in the dry bulk sector. Banks are more supportive and more financiers approach Campbell Global Ldt, but does that mean that charter rates and second-hand prices are cooling down?

“I, of course, don’t possess a crystal ball to put a pin on where the numbers will exactly pan out, but I do see a correction from our current numbers. Going by the current and forecast data available, including the low order books in the dry bulk shipping sector, which is mainly on account of uncertainty over which fuel will dominate after the IMO 2030 regulations will be enforced, this means that owners are particularly sceptical of spending the additional cost of building ships that are dual-fuel compatible.

In general, he expects a correction of the hire rates, that are inflated due to the pandemic, to decrease once operations stabilize again, not to a pre-pandemic level, but to a healthier level than what is current. For the Handy and supra segment, he foresees numbers around the 15-20k level for a minimum of three years.

“This will also have an impact on the second-hand market and the impact will be felt particularly by companies purchasing and taking delivery of vessels during that correction. The current sale-and-purchase transactions have been executed with high valuations because of the ability to place a hedge with the one-year charter hires to reduce the loan-to-value ratio significantly and have the vessel value in the region of its pre-pandemic levels if that hedge is placed. With regards to financed sale and purchase tonnages, I anticipate when and if the market does correct, financiers will push their lenders to meet the agreed minimum LTV requirements forcing the lenders to put up substantial capital to meet this requirement; however, most financiers have also made provisions for a revision in their current calculations while providing loans.”