When the restless hedge fund manager Robert Fairchild from New York City sees the Baltic Dry Cargo Index plummet by 97% and reach an all-time high and a 25-year low within just six months, he decides to buy a ship. Immediately, he dreams of naming the ship after his wife, sailing it with a string of pearls for calmness, and introducing himself as a "ship owner" at his upcoming college reunion. Fairchild embarks on an odyssey into the most exclusive, glamorous, and risky business in the world. From pirates off the coast of Somalia and Wall Street to Greek and Norwegian shipping magnates, Robert Fairchild's education comes at a high cost. In the end, he loses his hedge fund but gains a life – as a mariner. Part fast-paced thriller, part textbook on ship financing, "The Shipping Man" is essential reading for anyone interested in capital formation in shipping.