Kalistani Major History

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Having committed to rebuilding the Lodamese Merchant Marine following its unceremonious decline, the Harrington Company announced earlier this morning that it had awarded a Kalistani firm, Republican National Shipyards a multi-million dollar contract to construct five (5) container ships and (2) LNG tankers which will move goods and services between Lodamun and Kalistan in a clear sign of the seriousness with which the Harrington Company is moving to build and solidify the foundation of Lodamese international trade. As part of the wider mandate of the Harrington Company, the entity is the defacto guarantor of the Lodamese merchant marine, the collection of cargo ships registered under Lodamun, responsible for moving trade into and out of the country. With the merchant marine having been devastated amidst decades of mismanagement and the abject failure of previous administrations to curb its decline, Merchant General of the Harrington Company, David Teller stated that Lodamun's re-engagement with the region and the wider global economy provided the company with a unique opportunity to reverse the failures of the past. As the aforementioned vessels will be constructed on behalf of the Harrington Company, Teller reiterated that the vessels would indeed be manned by crews within the service of the Harrington Company. "There has been considerable movement behind the scenes as we have been slowly building capacity among our potential crews. We signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Lodamese Navy Wartime College which has committed to training our crews in various nautical disciplines. We have committed to ensuring that the crews of our vessels are among the best in the world," Teller explained. With economists anticipating an increase in trans-Anantonese trade, Chief Trader of the Harrington Company Dr Kieran Mason reiterated the rationale behind the Harrington Company's decision to procure and operate its own vessels. He noted that as demand among exporters and imports increases between Kalistan and Lodamun, some shipping firms may be inclined to increase their freight rate to largely unsustainable rates and thus the company concluded that it would be easier for it to construct and operate its own vessels instead of having to move at the whim of shipping firms. "The rationale behind the decision is quite simple: the increase in trade activity between Kalistan, Lodamun and Lourenne would undoubtedly send some shipping firms into a frenzy and said firms may be inclined to capitalise on our precarious situations and would raise their freight rates. We came to a conclusion in the earlier moments of this entity's formation to ensure that we [the Harrington Company] are not thrown/pushed around by greedy shipping firms, and would thus seek to construct and operate our own vessels," Dr Mason said. The container ships to be constructed are estimated to be around 250 meters long, a far cry from the much larger vessels currently moving throughout the world's business shipping lanes. Dr Mason revealed that the company intended to name its vessels after personalities, entities and events from the nations between which the said vessels will operate. As the aforementioned container ships and LNG tankers will operate between Kalistan, Mason revealed that the vessels will take on names including the HCS(Harrington Company Ship)-Barrington Hayes, the HCS-Bennots, the HCS-Kaliburg, the HCS-Ananto Strait and the HCS-Vrassa whilst the LNG-tankers will take on names such as the HCS-Paria and HCS-Romanche.