Sailing Close to the Wind

[Ernie]

Even in the adrenaline-fueled shipping industry, billionaire George Prokopiou has long been renowned for sailing close to the wind in pursuit of profit.

This week, the Greek magnate made one of the boldest plays of his 55-year tanker career: sending at least five ships through the Strait of Hormuz while war flared across the Middle East.

https://www.wsj.com/business/energy-oil ... _permalink

https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/bil ... 50580.html

[barnhart]

The man is a billionaire yet he feels compelled to run ships throyan active warzone, risking the lives of crew, just for the adrenaline rush and more profit. What will he do with the extra earnings, take them with him to judgment?

[temporal1]

The man is a billionaire yet he feels compelled to run ships throyan active warzone, risking the lives of crew, just for the adrenaline rush and more profit. What will he do with the extra earnings, take them with him to judgment?

From the yahoo report, he’ll pay insurance, if he can get it.

i suspect most would be surprised at how much influence insurance companies have on our daily lives.
they unapologetically exist to profit, not pay out for losses.

[JohnH]

The man is a billionaire yet he feels compelled to run ships throyan active warzone, risking the lives of crew, just for the adrenaline rush and more profit. What will he do with the extra earnings, take them with him to judgment?

There was a time when pretty much every ship had to do that and a large fraction of them never returned. I guess you would prefer it if humans just stayed each in their own country / island and never did trade with another country or place?

[temporal1]

The man is a billionaire yet he feels compelled to run ships throyan active warzone, risking the lives of crew, just for the adrenaline rush and more profit. What will he do with the extra earnings, take them with him to judgment?

There was a time when pretty much every ship had to do that and a large fraction of them never returned. I guess you would prefer it if humans just stayed each in their own country / island and never did trade with another country or place?

Possibly following the U.S. Civil War, after medicine had such major advances, anesthetics, antibiotics, vaccines, as newborn survival became more+more expected ..

humankind has become accustomed to being safe AND pain-free!
to the point now where any pain, any risk, are considered dubious if not shocking - and - wait for it: illegal!

human nature LOVES safety and comfort. scriptures warn about that.

and, insurance companies DO NOT want to pay out.
they don’t play. $$$$

[ohio jones]

The man is a billionaire yet he feels compelled to run ships throyan active warzone, risking the lives of crew, just for the adrenaline rush and more profit. What will he do with the extra earnings, take them with him to judgment?

There was a time when pretty much every ship had to do that and a large fraction of them never returned. I guess you would prefer it if humans just stayed each in their own country / island and never did trade with another country or place?

I would prefer if there were no active war zones, so that trade could be conducted without risking loss of lives from that cause.

[Praxis+Theodicy]

Even in the adrenaline-fueled shipping industry, billionaire George Prokopiou has long been renowned for sailing close to the wind in pursuit of profit.

This week, the Greek magnate made one of the boldest plays of his 55-year tanker career: sending at least five ships through the Strait of Hormuz while war flared across the Middle East.

https://www.wsj.com/business/energy-oil ... _permalink

https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/bil ... 50580.html

The wording on this is so strange. Lionizing an oligarch for sending people into a VERY dangerous job just so he can potentially make a great deal of profit.

"Some of you may die, but that's a sacrifice I'm willing to make."

[mike]

Even in the adrenaline-fueled shipping industry, billionaire George Prokopiou has long been renowned for sailing close to the wind in pursuit of profit.

This week, the Greek magnate made one of the boldest plays of his 55-year tanker career: sending at least five ships through the Strait of Hormuz while war flared across the Middle East.

https://www.wsj.com/business/energy-oil ... _permalink

https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/bil ... 50580.html

The wording on this is so strange. Lionizing an oligarch for sending people into a VERY dangerous job just so he can potentially make a great deal of profit.

"Some of you may die, but that's a sacrifice I'm willing to make."

Reminds me of the fascinating story of George Binney's blockade runs in WW2. Except he was doing it for the war effort, rather than to enrich himself. It took all of his powers of persuasion to get men to crew the ships because of the danger.

[joshuabgood]

My guess is the sailors are making a lot of extra money also for being willing to and that is a "chance" they take.

[ken_sylvania]

The man is a billionaire yet he feels compelled to run ships throyan active warzone, risking the lives of crew, just for the adrenaline rush and more profit. What will he do with the extra earnings, take them with him to judgment?

The article doesn't mention whether or not this man has suffered greater than average losses of ships and crew.

How much greater is the actual risk?
I know plenty of people who are willing to pay for the privilege of doing things like skydiving or dirt bike riding - potentially more dangerous that what these sailors are being asked to do.

It seems like he is offering higher wages for sailors to take this voyage and apparently they are willing to do so.