Combining a ship finance textbook with a jet setting geopolitical romp, Viking Raid picks up where The Shipping Man left off - on a journey into the famously private world of international shipping tycoons and their financiers. At the conclusion of The Shipping Man, Robert Fairchild is sipping rose on the Cote d'Azur with Coco Jacobsen and toasting to the success of their $300 million junk bond offering; six months later the CEO is in the 120-degree engine room of a supertanker discharging two million barrels of Saudi crude oil - afraid for his job and afraid for his life. Fortunes change quickly in the volatile world of international oil shipping and Fairchild knows that unless he can find another $500 million soon his powerful Norwegian tanker tycoon boss will have little use for him. When Robert convinces Coco to attempt an Initial Public Offering of Viking Tankers on Wall Street, the desperate American thinks his problems may have been solved - but the former hedge fund manager couldn't be more wrong. Instead, Fairchild finds himself stuck between an American shale gas wildcatter and The Peoples' Republic of China in their competition for clean energy. Combining swashbuckling shipping adventure with corporate finance derring-do, Viking Raid puts Fairchild back at the table in the highest-stakes casino in the world - with more than just his deal at risk.

Combining a ship finance textbook with a jet setting geopolitical romp, Viking Raid picks up where The Shipping Man left off on a journey into the famously private world of international shipping tycoons and their financiers. At the conclusion of The Shipping Man, Robert Fairchild is sipping rose on the Cote d Azur with Coco Jacobsen and toasting to the success of their $300 million junk bond offering; six months later the CEO is in the 120-degree engine room of a supertanker discharging two million barrels of Saudi crude oil afraid for his job and afraid for his life. Fortunes change quickly in the volatile world of international oil shipping and Fairchild knows that unless he can find another $500 million soon his powerful Norwegian tanker tycoon boss will have little use for him. When Robert convinces Coco to attempt an Initial Public Offering of Viking Tankers on Wall Street, the desperate American thinks his problems may have been solved but the former hedge fund manager couldn t be more wrong. Instead, Fairchild finds himself stuck between an American shale gas wildcatter and The Peoples Republic of China in their competition for clean energy. Combining swashbuckling shipping adventure with corporate finance derring-do, Viking Raid puts Fairchild back at the table in the highest stakes casino in the world with more than just his deal at risk.

Dynasties of the Sea is the first book to examine one of the most powerful forces in global trade and economic development: world shipping and the magnates who drive the industry. Operating from Monaco to Hong Kong, London to Athens, Singapore to Oslo, shipowners and their financiers have changed the world in every way. From transporting agricultural products from Brazil to Africa and the Middle East, to delivering Australian iron ore to China, to carrying Middle East crude oil to Asia and the Americas, to carrying almost every article of clothing you are wearing and every electronic device in the world, shipowners have enabled global economic development and helped raise the global standard of living. While ocean shipping remains one of the most important businesses in the world, it is also one of the most volatile. Affected by such imponderables as weather and political upheaval, shipowning cultures have maintained their commitment to an industry that has endured for centuries - and will continue to endure for centuries to come. The candid and detailed first-person profiles that comprise Dynasties of the Sea provide critical insight into the psychology of today's generation of shipping magnates, from how they view risk - politically, economically and environmentally - to what they see transpiring in the world tomorrow.