I did not go but, having attended lots of conferences, I can get down with the author! It’s hard times in shipping, and that brings out the stress. read the article itself!
This has always been true in big business:
Shipping sees massive deals concerning the movement of millions of barrels of oil on behemoth ships can be made over a third pint of beer at the local pub.
Source: The Great Masquerade of Shipping at Posidonia 2016 – The Barrel Blog
Supply Chain and Logistics 