1. Xi Jinping, China

China under Xi Jinping has hit its stride with an unfamiliar confidence. The moment that P3 — the ill-fated alliance between the world’s top three containership operators— was struck down by China’s Ministry of Commerce, the shipping world knew it was dealing with a new kind of national regulator. Xi Dada is pretty strenuous！

2. Nils Andersen and Søren Skou, AP Moller-Maersk

Danish duo raise the bar for Maersk Line as competitors struggle to keep up. Maersk Line’s financial results continued to defy gravity throughout 2014, with the Danish carrier expected to post a full-year operating profit in excess of $2bn after three consecutive strong quarterly results. Rich and willful!

3. Opec and the oil men

    

Secretary-general of the cartel has seen the US shale gas industry changing the global political calculus of Big Oil. Following the decision by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries not to cut production on November 27, secretary-general of the cartel Abdalla El-Badri told reporters in Vienna: “We are not sending any signals to anybody; we just try to have a fair price.” So the question is: will the oil price increase or decrease?

4. John Angelicoussis, Angelicoussis Shipping Group

        

A bankers' favourite from the classic mould of private shipowners. John Angelicoussis goes up one place this year as his group continues its expansion in virtual defiance of most of the fancier trends in the industry. This is the personality.

5. Other People’s Money

          

So much of the risk appetite folded into shipping markets comes from presumption that OPM can be summoned. Historically, ship financing has been like an evening that has a louche trajectory, starting at the Four Seasons and ending up at Rick’s Café in Casablanca, with everybody looking for a way out. Other people’s money! Other people’s world! Who knows?

6. Aponte Family, Mediterranean Shipping Co

              

Change of guard at MSC as Gianluigi Aponte hands over to son Diego. Gianluigi Aponte officially handed over to his son Diego in October, promoting him to president and chief executive of Mediterranean Shipping Co. But few expect the man who has built up MSC into one of the biggest shipping groups in the world to be far from the action, regardless of the formal change at the top. Takeover is easy, but management is not. It is to be cherished.

7. Eyal Ofer, Zodiac Group

                

Focused, private and disciplined — could this be the secret to his long-term influence in shipping? Discipline is the word that continuously comes up when discussing Eyal Ofer’s influence in the industry. Positive energy！

8. Idan Ofer, Quantum Pacific Shipping Group

                    

A global entrepreneur who plays the shipping markets with focused determination. “I like to think of myself as an industrialist,” Idan Ofer said earlier this year, when talking about his involvement in Qoros, a China-based auto manufacturer that is a joint venture between Israel Corp and Chery Automobile.

9. Emanuele Lauro, Scorpio Group

                      

Despite a slightly lower ranking, the chief executive still heads one of the biggest bets in shipping.

Last year, Emanuele Lauro vaulted into our Top 100 for the first time straight at No.2 after Scorpio Group ratcheted up more newbuilding orders than anyone else in the dry bulk and tanker sectors. The Scorpio franchise has also proved a phenomenal fundraiser in the equity markets.

10. John Fredriksen, Seatankers

                          

His legendary gut instinct remains intact, but what does the shipowner's shipowner have to prove? Has John Frediksen got the stomach for shipping any more? It seems unthinkable to consider a top 10 list of the most influential in shipping without Big John on it.

Questions / Comments? Contact: jia.tong@cnss.com.cn