The first of February marks the first day of the Lunar New Year and the start of the Year of the Tiger. Whilst travel restrictions and associated Covid lockdowns are going to make this year’s celebrations distinctly muted throughout China, it’s still the most important festival of the year for millions upon millions across Asia. It’s also the busiest time of year for Feng Shui masters, who are in high demand for their forecasts on what the year ahead holds. For the past few years, Splash Extra has brought you insights from some of the leading fortune tellers in the region. Reflecting on what they said then makes it worth your while to pay attention now.

As the Year of the Rat dawned in late January 2020, one expert commented that he ‘had no good news for the shipping, transport and media sectors.’ With the Baltic Dry Index hitting an all-time low in May that year, clearly, he was on the money. For 2021’s Year of the Ox, the presence of the metal and water elements foretold a positive year for tourism, transport and finance. Tourism struggled and certainly amongst transport sectors, aviation, in Asia in particular, was disastrous, but if you were involved in transporting containers or dry bulk, again our man hit the spot.

So, what about the Year of the Tiger? Courageous, decisive, and confident are the characteristics of the tiger, so it’s almost as if he was made to be a shipowner. Hong Kong investment group CLSA publishes its annual Feng Shui Index at this time of year, attempting to apply the ancient principles of Feng Shui to investment markets. They advise that this is the year of the Water Tiger, and the lack of fire or metal elements presages a year of sudden changes, which does not sound too auspicious. More encouraging, however, is that the presence of water in the tiger year means a good year for trade, shipping and travel, sectors which should pick up and hold steady over the summer before pushing higher in winter.

Encouraged by this forecast for shipping but taking the ‘good year for travel’ with a pinch of salt as travel restrictions see no prospect of easing, at least in Hong Kong, we paid a personal visit to an acclaimed fortune teller to ask him some specific shipping questions. Clearly recognizing that this past year had been exhausting, our expert advised that shipowners should only return to work on February 8, adding a couple of days to the ‘official’ holidays, with the 8th being seen as a particularly auspicious day to get down to business. He also seemed to concur with those shipping analysts predicting that the early months might not be so buoyant, (and a buying opportunity?), by saying that April 12 onwards will see things improve. As the incense wafted across the room, we were eager to get down to specifics: “So what is the Year of The Tiger going to be like for shipping?” After years of hearing forecasts that can be interpreted any way you want, we were not expecting his response : “A great year to come!” he proclaimed. We didn’t want to spoil the mood by asking specific questions about the tanker market, but we left feeling invigorated that the experts all seem to concur that the Year of the Tiger holds much promise.

Whatever the Year of the Tiger holds, may your health and happiness be the dominant themes. Kung Hei Fat Choy!