This Streetwise newsletter is usually about numbers and often about trends and concepts affecting the finance community.
But ship finance is about the people, too, and we’ve lost a good one recently: longtime shipping equity analyst Natasha Boyden.
Boyden was one of the first bank analysts covering the budding public sector in the 2000s and almost certainly the first woman to do so in any consistent way. Industrious, well connected and fair are some of the adjectives applied to her work.
But she was more than that — also a fixture on shipping’s social scene with her outsized personality, gregarious nature and yen for fun. She was the life of any party, and there were many.
Like most who will be reading this, Streetwise had somewhat lost track of Boyden in recent years after she left her last bank analyst gig with MLV & Co in 2015.
It turns out she had landed another shipping job, on the owner’s side, when she signed on with Jacksonville, Florida-based Crowley as a market intelligence analyst in June 2021.
Streetwise heard rumours of her death a couple of weeks ago. Sadly they finally were confirmed by Crowley earlier this week.
Little is publicly known about the circumstances, and we were unable to find any trace of a death notice or obituary in web searches. The initial rumour passed to us by a friend in the finance community suggested Boyden may have died in May.
Crowley on Boyden
We received the following statement from Crowley spokeswoman Torey Vogel:
“Natasha Boyden joined Crowley in 2021 as a market intelligence analyst for our shipping group, not only bringing to the company an immense amount of knowledge and experience but also a contagious, unwavering passion.
“Natasha was a pioneer in the shipping industry as one of the first women to cover the sector on Wall Street, winning several awards and serving as a valuable resource for many major financial news networks and industry publications.
“Outside of her work, Natasha loved travelling, deep-sea scuba diving, and horseback riding. Her generous donations contributed to helping animal charities and preventing global warming.”
Most of the people contacted for a response to this story were learning of Boyden’s death from Streetwise.
Noah Parquette, who was Boyden’s associate analyst for six years at Cantor Fitzgerald and Global Hunter Securities, said there was nearly a double tragedy in her passing.
“Obviously her death is a tragedy in itself, but what really made me sad is that it was nearly unknown. I thought that was really tragic that it might happen and the shipping community wouldn’t know,” he said.
“I know she took a lot of enjoyment and pride in being part of the shipping community. It meant a lot to her. She made a lot of friends and it’s something that was important to her.”
Well, some time has passed, but the shipping community is finding out. And the reaction from all corners reflects both sorrow and respect for a professional who served the sector well.
“Natasha was immensely respected by her clients and peers alike,” said analyst Mike Webber, head of Webber Research & Advisory.
“She was always someone you hoped you ran into at conferences or events. She was incredibly thoughtful and treated everyone with genuine kindness that’s increasingly rare. For those of us that were fortunate to know her, we’ve lost a true friend, and the industry has lost a leading and important voice. She’ll be greatly missed.”
Jefferies analyst Omar Nokta was still a young buck when he came on the scene in 2004 with the former Dahlman Rose, but Boyden was already a presence.
“I still remember as a young analyst hearing her voice on conference calls and the banter she had with management teams. You knew she had very good relationships and friendships by the way they spoke and the companies had a lot of respect for her,” Nokta said.
The dean of current shipping analysts, Evercore ISI’s Jonathan Chappell, spent years with Boyden as a friendly competitor.
“Natasha was one of the original shipping analysts and was a joy to work with and compete against. She had great relationships throughout the industry and her energy was missed when she moved to the corporate side. I hold many fond memories of our early days covering the sector, and I’m incredibly heartbroken to hear she was taken so early,” Chappell said.
Boyden is equally remembered by the owner-side executives she covered.
The owners’ perspective
“Natasha was part of a core group of young analysts in the early-2000s excited to introduce shipping to public markets in the golden days of shipping IPOs,” said Leonidas Vrondissis, the longtime lieutenant to Peter Georgiopoulos at New York-listed General Maritime Corp and Gener8.
“She was diligent, charismatic and honest in her analysis. She was a personality all in herself and will be missed.”
She was also remembered by Morten Arntzen, the career banker who led the old Overseas Shipholding Group as CEO from 2004 to 2013.
“Natasha was an energetic, thoughtful, thorough analyst who did her homework. She knew the industry well and had invested enormous amounts of time and energy to gain that knowledge. She always asked lots of good questions and remembered your answers,” Arntzen said.
“She was always pleasant to deal with and fun to be around. She had a real zest for life, was equally comfortable in Oslo, Piraeus or New York and became a friend to many of us. She will be missed.”
The social scene
For all her good work, Boyden is probably equally remembered for her contributions to shipping’s social circuit, whether organising parties in her Manhattan base or busting out a dance move at a nightclub on the Athens Riviera during Posidonia.
“Over the years, we had plenty of laughs at luncheons, conferences and Posidonia, especially,” Nokta recalled. “She also spearheaded several shipping analyst get-togethers that helped us come together closely as a community.”
Streetwise would be remiss not to add that Boyden was unfailingly helpful to the struggling journalist trying to make sense of all those numbers and armed with a degree in English rather than finance.
We can only say what so many others have already: Natasha Boyden will be missed.
More ship finance news
Product tanker giant Scorpio Tankers has bought back 27% of the company since this time last summer as part of a massive transformation of its balance sheet. Click here to read.
When the toughest question a company management team gets on its quarterly earnings call is just how it is going to return all that capital to shareholders, it is a sure sign of good times. Click here to read.
Private Scorpio Holdings has revealed a 5.33% holding in fellow product tanker owner Ardmore Shipping, but it does not appear to be consolidation that is on the mind of the Monaco-based outfit. Click here to read.
