WHEN people talk about shipping being driven by strong characters, they tend to mean people like Robert Bugbee.

The bullish president of Scorpio Tankers is a divisive figure on Wall Street, but he is always engaging.

How many other shipping executives can lay claim to having their own parody account on Twitter?

While Lloyd’s List consistently took a negative view of the tanker recovery, Mr Bugbee was the cheerleader in chief. And, of course, he has ultimately, eventually been proved right

The good times for tanker markets that Mr Bugbee confidently asserted were just around the corner at nearly every quarterly investor call since at least 2017 have finally arrived.

Clarksons securities this week somewhat incredulously claimed that if all the stars aligned, as any good optimist would naturally expect in shipping, LR2 earnings might theoretically reach $250,000/day.

So it was inevitably time to hit the hotline to man himself and get the Robert Bugbee view on life the universe and everything… and why he would need a lobotomy before getting serious about ordering alternative fuels.

I was joined for this week’s conversation by our resident tankers supremo and shipping executive botherer in chief Michelle Wiese Bockmann – and if you didn’t get round to reading her interview with the man himself last month, make sure you follow this link – it’s well worth your time.

https://lloydslist.maritimeintelligence.informa.com/LL1141803/

But not before you’ve listened to his conversation.

So what exactly is it that keeps one of the industry’s most bullish optimists awake at night?