Amit Kumar Sureka — CFO | Maritime & Shipping Finance

About

Two decades keeping ship owners strong, steady, and profitable — through every turn of the cycle.

Amit Kumar Sureka — CFO, Maritime & Shipping Finance

I am a Chief Financial Officer with over 20 years in maritime and shipping finance. My journey has spanned Dubai (2002–2007), India (2008–2010), Hong Kong (2011–2024), and now back to Dubai.

My work centres on vessel acquisition strategy and capital allocation, ship finance, refinancing, risk management, long-term growth planning, protection of shareholders' equity, corporate structuring, and governance — anchored by two disciplines I apply to every decision: Balance Sheet Risk Management and Cash Flow Risk Management.

I believe in consistency, humility, and hard work — and in finance as a catalyst for sustainable growth, innovation, and long-term value.

My work style — the SAI framework

SSimple & Sustainable

AAccurate & Actionable

IInsightful & Innovative

My personal compass — ABCD

AAdaptable

BBelieve in self

CContinuous learner

DDisciplined

Guiding Frameworks

A disciplined system for ship owning across cycles

BSRM

Balance Sheet Risk Management

Protecting the financial foundation of ship owning companies — sustaining profitability and growth through every market cycle.

CFRM

Cash Flow Risk Management

Ensuring liquidity resilience in volatile freight and credit markets. Cash is king — and the single most important success factor for any ship owner.

The Ship-Owning Compass

Every vessel investment, evaluated not only on acquisition merit — but on earnings sustainability and exit optionality.

EntryEarningsExit

Vessel Acquisition & Disposal Strategy

Ship Finance, Structuring & Refinancing

Risk Mitigation & Hedging

Corporate Structuring & Governance

Capital Allocation & Investment

Insurance & Risk Transfer

Credentials & Community

Globally qualified, industry engaged

MBA — HKUST

The Hong Kong University of Science & Technology

Fellow CA · ACCA · CMA

Chartered Accountant, ACCA & Certified Management Accountant

M.Com

Master of Commerce — Calcutta University

ICAI Hong Kong Chapter

Founding Member & Vice-Chairman (2018–2024)

Marine Money

Panelist, Speaker & Moderator — New York, Singapore, Dubai, Hong Kong

IIM-A Leadership Development Programme

Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad · Ongoing

Insights

Perspectives on ship finance & risk

Capital Allocation · Marine Money New York

You Are a Price Taker, Not a Price Maker

Panelist on Capital Allocation Strategies & Tactics. Two-layer breakeven discipline, hidden liquidity, and why revenue days — not NAV — is the private owner's real scoreboard.

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Balance Sheet Risk · Marine Money Hong Kong

Cash Is King — and the Balance Sheet Sets the CAPEX

Speaker at the 14th Marine Money event. How TCF — Techno-Commercial-Financial methodology — and BSRM turn an unknown-and-unknown vessel decision into a risk you can manage.

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Marine Money · Dubai

Sector, Age, Structure — Choices That Define a Decade

Moderating at the 19th Marine Money Gulf Forum. Timing is everything, cash is king, survival is key — and today's decision sets the next ten years of returns.

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Marine Money · Singapore

When Timing Matters More Than Certainty

Moderating at the 24th Marine Money Week Asia. Navigating unknown unknowns — where agility, timing, and conviction outrun forecasts. The 3E lens in action.

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Capital Allocation

They Did Not Lack Innovation. They Lacked Future Readiness.

Kodak, Nokia, Blockbuster, Sears. Six failures, one lesson — and why the 70/20/10 mindset means ring-fencing the 10% that decides who stays relevant.

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Market Data · 2025 Lookback

The Year Geopolitics Beat the Forecast

Spot earnings, orderbook-to-fleet, listed shipping P/NAV, rates and FX in one dashboard — and why 2025 rewarded resilience, optionality, and fast execution.

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Data-Driven Finance

The Commercial Work Is Already in the Data

Analyse 10, 20, 30 years of trend data before the deal, and much of the commercial hard thinking is done before the market moves.

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Market Insight

The Cycle Tells You Everything, If You Watch the Right Things

Freight rates, vessel utilisation, new orders, scrapping — the four indicators that reveal where the shipping cycle actually is.

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Leadership

A True Leader Makes Themselves Irrelevant

The real measure of a leader is not what they control — it is what continues when they let go. A reflection on Lao Tzu and the most disciplined act of leadership.

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