One best shipping stock?

I an email response to one of the posts here I received the following note and questions:

I’ve been following your blog for some time and want to tell you that I find it very interesting-as a matter of fact, I look forward to it.

I have two questions for you. First,if you would invest in one shipping stock,taking into account amount of dividend ,safety of dividend and potential growth of the company,which one would it be? Second could you keep a running ‘personal portfolio’ on your blog,so that followers could keep up with your favorite picks? Keep it up.

I thought the answers to these questions would be interesting to the readers of this blog. First, a listing of shipping stocks that I currently personally own.

• Ship Finance International: I have owned SFL for quite a while. Originally it was an exposure to Frontline with less volatility. Now it is exposure to container and offshore drilling as well.
• Nordic American Tanker NAT: I think NAT is the easy choice for exposure to the spot tanker sector. Just look at the distributions over the last 10 years. No debt, low overhead.
• Navios Maritime Partners L.P. NMM I picked this stock up recently for exposure to dry bulk and what appears to be a steady dividend for the next few years.

I think the investor interested in shipping stocks should think about exposure to the different sectors: dry bulk, tanker and container. (I really do not follow offshore here). Then do you want more time charter or spot charter exposure? It is a balancing act. Right now I am most interested in companies that I can get a handle on their possible revenues for the next couple of years and control of their debt levels.

One best shipping stock? A year ago I would have said Ship Finance, and I have taken a bath on the share values. Overseas Shipping Group has tremendous cash flow and growth potential. Right now I think Eagle Bulk Shipping is the best positioned of the suspended dividend/bulk shipping crowd.

These are strictly my opinions and not recommendations. I keep an eye on 42 shipping stocks of which 25 are currently paying some sort of dividend. The shipping sector has gone through a major upheaval over the last year and the future is dependent on the global economic condition. I think the shipping sector has tremendous potential over the next couple of years and the challenge now is to find the companies that will thrive in the new economic environment.