Chicago Tribune, 20 Feb 2009, David Greising
SINGAPORE—On a typical day, more than 500 ships sail in or out of the harbor here, an armada of mercantilism that makes Singapore one of the busiest ports in the world.
These days, though, Singapore stands at the terminus of a commerce parking lot.
Hundreds of ships idle at anchor within sight of this city-state, giving the Strait of Malacca the look of Burnham Harbor on the 4th of July. Except the vessels in the water have the length and girth of a mid-rise office building, and the people on board are not having fun.
"Look at the number of ships anchored out there," exclaimed David Lum, chief executive of Chicago-based Aon Corp.'s South Asia business, waving an arm toward the still life on the waters visible through both corner windows of his 32nd-floor office. "They're all anchored there with a skeleton crew, waiting for some cargo to load. But there isn't any."
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