An overview of methods and stature

Once Joseph (Giuseppe) Calà (October 11) saw fit to give us the benefit of his expertise and opinion, I thought I might as well give readers some of my reaction, based on some research done into the activities of this gentleman.

Mr Calà's letter is a perfect example of the long-winded media releases and what can only be called exaggerated promotion of himself and his company. He apparently makes tens of paid media releases through a company called Business Wire, which can be accessed by anyone over the net. The various letters to Maltese papers that he pens (or has penned for him) are typical attempts at impressing the Maltese public with his "knowledge" of international business.

It is somewhat surprising that, with all his self-proclaimed profound business acumen, his own company is in what can only be described as total insolvency.

This latter statement is based not on my own assumptions but on what, on October 1, 2007, as part of the required quarterly SEC filing, Mr Calà himself was constrained to declare to the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

He wrote:

"As of June 30, 2007, the company (Calà Corporation) had no current assets and total current liabilities of $153,504, resulting in net working capital deficit of $153,504. During the six months ended June 30, 2007 and 2006, the company incurred losses of $272,990 and $332,089, respectively. The company had an accumulated deficit of $12,159,779 as of June 30, 2007. These factors raise substantial doubt as to the company's ability to continue as a going concern. In fact, the company's independent accountants' audit report included in the Form 10KSB for the year ended December 31, 2006 includes a substantial doubt paragraph regarding the company's ability to continue as a going concern."

This was signed by Joseph Calà as principle executive officer and principle financial officer.

From this declaration, made, as I say by, Mr Calà himself, it can only be concluded that Calà Corporation is sinking fast and may well be destined to become the first Undersea Resort in its own right, if I may be forgiven a cheap pun.

In such a situation, perhaps one could not blame the person responsible for clutching at anything that may keep him afloat for a few more months. Through his repeated efforts at undermining Maltese credibility and the management of Malta Shipyards, one would be justified in asking whether Mr Calà is clinging to the hope that he might eventually gain some political advantage that would allow him to get his hands on even a small part of the shipyards to use as collateral for his own funding plans.

What does the maritime industry in the United Sates think about Calà Corporation? These pieces, by Tim Colton, appear on the Maritime Business Strategies, LLC's website and they say plenty:

October 2007: "Calà Corporation - the company planning the ginormous undersea resort with the projected 99-year life - is now talking about buying Malta Shipyards [reference to Mr Calà's letter in the Times]. Now Mr Calà is a serious businessman, so if he says he has $300 million in tax-free bonds from the State of Alabama, I'm sure he means it. Can any of my loyal readers in Alabama tell me how I can get $300 million in tax-free bonds from their state? I feel like buying a shipyard too, but maybe I'll buy one in Alabama."

October 2007: "Now here's more. First, the Mobile Press Register reported six weeks ago that Calà Corp. had dropped its plans to build the Under-Sea Resort in Alabama, because the $300 million in state bonds is no longer available, although there appears to be a bit more to it than that. [Reference to the article mentioned.] Note that the proposed Calà shipyard is described as 'the first new major shipyard to be constructed in the US in nearly a century'. Yeah, right. I guess Ingalls isn't a shipyard and WWII never happened. Second, Calà Corporation yesterday announced that it is 'ready to sell' the first ship, for only $460 million, despite the fact that it does not yet have a shipyard. [Reference to the announcement.] Note that it says, among other things, that 'The company does not foresee any major obstacle in selling the ships because the costs are from $300 to $460 million, which is much lower, as compared with any shipbuilders around the world'. Yeah, that will happen. So what new entertainment can we expect from these folks now? I love the US maritime industry, don't you?"

October 2007: "Now check here [link]: This was just posted on Yahoo on Tuesday and it's priceless".

October 5, 2007: "But we've wasted enough time...: No more Calà news".

But is Mr Colton, the author of the above, credible?

Comprehensive information about him is available on the company website www.coltoncompany.com; but here is his, pretty impressive, brief resumé:

Life fellow, Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers.

Senior member, Institute of Industrial Engineers.

Fellow, Royal Institution of Naval Architects.

Life member, American Society of Naval Engineers.

Life member, United States Naval Institute.

Life member, Navy League of the United States.

Winner of the 2006 William M. Kennedy Award for Outstanding Service and Contribution to Shipbuilding.

Member, USA Advisory Committee, Lloyd's Register of Shipping.

Past chairman, Shipbuilding Committee, Shipbuilders Council of America.

Past member, Executive Control Board, National Shipbuilding Research Programme.

Past chairman, Public Policy Committee, SNAME.

Past chairman, Committee on Knowledge Management, SNAME.

Moderator, Marine Log's Annual Conference on the US Shipbuilding Industry, 1993 - 2002.

I guess even Mr Calà would have to understand that one can attribute a great deal of credibility to Mr Colton.

One has to ask why Mr Calà is clearly so upset with the diligent approach shown towards him and his grandiose plans by the management of Malta Shipyards.

Is it because his efforts to "pump up" the value of his company shares through obtaining even a preliminary commitment from Malta Shipyards (to consider building his concept vessels) have failed completely?

At the bottom line, which is the favourite place of all businessmen (as opposed to the bottom of the sea), I think it would be a good idea if certain segments of the media were to heed Mr Colton.