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Case Study

Seaspan Corporation: Leading a sea change toward growth and stability

By Peter Lorange and Colleen Lief

10 pages

May 2008

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Reference: IMD-3-1925

This case tells the unlikely story of a young man with a background in marine navigation and ship brokering who, along with a group of other shipping professionals, gathered a number of different organizations together to build one of the top global container shipping companies. Gerry Wang led Seaspan Corporation from its IPO launch with two customers and few charters in 2005 to its present day with healthy financial performance and seven of the biggest names in shipping as clients. The key to Seaspan’s success has been controlling as many variables as possible so as to report stable, predictable earnings to investors. In this way, the company would be assured access to a dependable, affordable funding source. Seaspan extended this risk mitigation concept into its financing arrangements and charter negotiations. Seaspan has benefitted greatly from the “China trade”, the location of a significant level of manufacturing in China of goods destined for sale in the faraway markets of Europe and the US. The continued viability of Seaspan’s business model depends heavily on the current dynamics continuing.

Learning Objective

To examine how two seemingly opposite concepts like growth and stability can be maintained simultaneously. How innovation, not only in products but also processes like contract structuring and tools like financial management, can push a company to the top of its industry in a brief time period.

Keywords

Shipping, Specialization

Settings

World/global, Canada
2005-2008

Type

Field Research

Available Languages

English

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Teaching note

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