Robert McGovern greeted his friendly competitor with a firm handshake. As Mr. Tam was ushered into a conference room, the other two CEO's of the Seaforth shipping alliance also arrived. On their heels, came coffee and other refreshments.
"Mr. Tan, I appreciate you coming here and your eagerness to get right down to business. These Borland attacks have caused a global dip in the economy as world wide shipping has decreased. We are on the brink of a Mundus wide recession, one we think we can avert by reinvigorating the shipping industry and returning it to previous levels."
"Our initiative here is a shared cost of increased security. Our owned port facilities are being upgraded with experienced personell, often retired police and military, and equipment, including xrays, chemical sniffers, drug and bomb detection dogs and so on. To help alleviate the costs to our members, we have recieved government grants and tax incentives. We would all befefit if PAL were join with us... decreased costs, plus a larger presence in your local region. Our analysts are predicting a break-even or modest 1-2% profit increase due to these measures. Mostly as a result of the increased market share we will net because of more secure cargoes. Those same analysts predict that will increse by another 2% if PAL Shipping becomes a member. It's modest, to be sure, but much better than the losses we are all facing without those security measures."
"Another topic we are discussing among our members is the Freestone Mark. Shipping goods to nations that won't allow us to unload doesn't pay at all. However, shipping to nations that don't care about a Freestone Mark could prove very lucrative indeed. We are discussing what position we should take on the matter."
With that, McGovern paused to sip his coffee.
"We are also interested in hearing any of your own suggestions."