Mankind is dominated by two powerful drives; one wanes with advancing years while the other increases with age. The latter, of course, is the desire to avoid tax (the former has no place in these pages). German tax laws used to provide an outlet for this urge by allowing high payers to invest in ships. In 1998, the total capital commitment transacted by tax-orientated funds for newbuildings (and a minor portion for second-hand tonnage) amounted to DM7.6Bn ($4.2Bn), of which DM2.8Bn was raised from share issues of GmbH & Co KG 'one-ship owning' companies.
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