And, I've always thought, the subject of the first usage of the term "In a move that stunned Wall Street" but a quick Google search returns no Mr. Ludwig.
It does however return in the #2 spot on the first page of results, this usage:
In a Move that Stunned Wall Street, Nancy Nakamoto, Izabella Kaminska and, Davos DeVille Were Spotted Together
Thus putting to rest the rumor that Ms Kaminska was somehow the alter-ego (or alter-Id, it gets confusing) of Ms. Deville and of Nakamoto, Bond villain and widow of the creator of bitcoin....
And today's romp back in time, from FreightWaves occasioned by the madness of the international oil biz, April 24, 2020:
American shipping magnate believed in efficiency and economies of scale in operating the world’s largest ships.
While Malcom McLean, founder of Sea-Land, is regarded as the father of the containership, Daniel Keith Ludwig is recognized as the father of the supertanker.....MUCH MORE
Ludwig was born on June 24, 1897, in South Haven, Michigan, to a family involved in Great Lakes shipping. He quit school in the eighth grade and split his time between Michigan and Port Arthur, Texas, living with his grandfather.
In his youth, Ludwig raised a sunken boat, which he later sold. He also held numerous maritime-oriented jobs, including ship chandler, machinist, line handler and engineer. By age 20, he was operating a tug and barge in New York Harbor.
Anticipating increased demand for shipping in the 1920s, Ludwig purchased an 1888-built, 4,350-deadweight-ton tanker for a charter to Standard Oil. In the 1930s, he founded National Bulk Carriers and had a fleet of secondhand tankers which he had upgraded.
His philosophy on commercial ocean shipping was to acquire the largest ships available, believing in the economies of scale, and financing the cost of acquisition by borrowing money with a pre-agreed charter party as collateral. This bold maneuver was later duplicated by a number of Greek shipowners, including Onassis and Niarchos in the 1960s and 1970s.
After building his first new ship at the Ingalls shipyard in 1936, Ludwig decided the only way to assure the quality, cost and flexibility in building ships going forward was to operate his own shipyard. In 1936, he established the Welding Shipyard in Norfolk, Virginia. He immediately started converting a number of dry cargo freighters into oil tankers. He built his first ship, the 18,000-ton tanker Virginia, in 1941. By 1950, his shipyard had built or converted 37 ships....
And he was only getting started.
