What Howe Robinson Partners does

Howe Robinson Partners is a privately owned shipbroking firm headquartered in London, United Kingdom, that intermediates vessel chartering transactions between ship owners and charterers across the dry bulk, LNG, and other maritime cargo segments. Founded in 1883, the firm is recognized in 2025 as one of the top 10 global shipbrokers alongside competitors such as Clarksons, Braemar, SSY, and BRS Group. Its activity spans spot and term chartering arrangements, freight market analysis, and advisory commentary on regional demand shifts, orderbook dynamics, and voyage economics.

The firm's core operations are relationship-driven brokerage and market intelligence. Chartering services are delivered via direct engagement with shipping companies, charterers, and commodity traders, supported by analyst-produced market reports on topics including dry bulk tonne-mile demand projections, LNG carrier spot rate assessments (TFDE versus two-stroke), Panama Canal transit conditions, and European storage arbitrage. Marketing and demand generation rely primarily on industry publications, market reports, and direct sales engagement rather than digital self-serve channels.

Howe Robinson generates revenue through commissions on completed vessel chartering transactions under a transaction-fee model. The company serves two primary B2B customer segments: ship owners and vessel operators seeking cargo or charter counterparties, and charterers and commodity traders seeking vessel capacity for LNG, dry bulk, and other cargo. With a headcount band of 251-500 employees, the firm operates at a global scale, though no specific revenue figures, ownership structure, subsidiary relationships, or technology stack details are disclosed in the available source material.

Name

Howe Robinson Partners

Website

https://howerobinson.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1883

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Howe Robinson Partners is a privately owned London-based shipbroker, founded in 1883, that intermediates dry bulk and LNG vessel chartering transactions between ship owners and charterers and provides related freight market intelligence. It is ranked among the top 10 global shipbrokers in 2025.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Shipbroking and Maritime Chartering

NAICS

Freight Transportation Arrangement (488510)

SIC

Arrangement Of Transportation Of Freight & Cargo (4731)

akta.pro primary industry

Ocean Freight Brokerage (FCL/LCL) (TLADAMAF)

akta.pro secondary industry

Liquid Bulk / Tanker Freight Brokerage (TLADAMAL)

Keywords

• Shipbroking services
• Vessel chartering
• Dry bulk shipping
• LNG carrier brokerage
• Maritime freight services

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Shipbrokerage commissions: The company generates revenue through broker commissions on vessel chartering transactions, matching ship owners with charterers in the dry bulk, LNG, and other shipping segments. Revenue is derived from transaction fees on completed charter deals.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Howe Robinson Partners is a privately owned shipbroking firm that intermediates between ship owners and charterers to facilitate vessel chartering transactions. The company earns broker commissions by matching available tonnage with cargo transport demand across dry bulk and LNG carrier segments, supported by ongoing market intelligence on charter rates, vessel availability, and regional demand shifts.

Product overview

Howe Robinson Partners is a shipbroker operating in the maritime shipping market. The company provides brokerage services for dry bulk and LNG carrier vessels, reporting on market conditions, spot chartering activity, and industry trends. No specific named products or service modules were identified in the source data.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Vessel Chartering Brokerage
• Dry Bulk Shipping Market Intelligence
• LNG Carrier Spot Market Brokerage and Advisory

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves3 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Ifchor Galbraiths: Ifchor Galbraiths is a top-10 shipbroker specialized in dry bulk, tankers, and offshore broking. It competes head-to-head with Howe Robinson for charter mandates and was also named in the 2025 top-10 shipbrokers list.
• Clarkson PLC (Clarksons): Clarksons is the world's largest shipbroker and the dominant player in vessel chartering across dry bulk, tankers, LNG, containers, and offshore. It is the most directly comparable peer to Howe Robinson as both compete on chartering mandates and market intelligence across overlapping shipping segments.
• Simpson Spence Young (SSY): SSY is a top-10 global shipbroker also recognized in the 2025 ranking alongside Howe Robinson. It offers directly comparable dry bulk, tanker, and project cargo chartering services, making it a close head-to-head competitor for the same shipowner and charterer clients.
• Braemar (Braemar ACM): Braemar is a top-10 shipbroker active in dry bulk, tankers, LNG, and offshore broking. It provides the same relationship-driven chartering services as Howe Robinson and competes directly for transaction mandates across shipping segments.
• BRS Group (Barry Rogliano Salles): BRS is a top-10 global shipbroker focused on dry bulk, tankers, and offshore chartering. It directly competes with Howe Robinson in vessel chartering mandates and is listed alongside it in the 2025 top-10 rankings.
• Arrow Shipbrokers: Arrow is a top-10 shipbroker based in London providing chartering services in dry bulk, tankers, and containers. It directly competes with Howe Robinson for the same relationship-based chartering mandates.
• MB Shipbrokers: MB Shipbrokers is a top-10 global shipbroker offering dry bulk, tanker, and container chartering services. It is listed alongside Howe Robinson in the 2025 top-10 rankings and competes directly for similar shipowner and charterer clients.
• Affinity Shipping: Affinity Shipping is a top-10 shipbroker offering chartering services in dry bulk and other shipping segments. Named alongside Howe Robinson in the 2025 top-10 ranking, it is a direct competitor in vessel chartering mandates.
• EA Gibson Shipbrokers: EA Gibson is a top-10 shipbroker with expertise across dry bulk, tankers, and LNG chartering. It directly competes with Howe Robinson for the same chartering mandates and is listed alongside it in the 2025 top-10 shipbrokers ranking.

Emerging players

• Poten & Partners: Poten & Partners is a US-based shipbroker specializing in LNG carrier chartering, directly overlapping with Howe Robinson's strongest specialty. While smaller in scale than top-10 shipbrokers, it is a significant specialist competitor in the LNG carrier spot market.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/howe-robinson-partners

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Howe Robinson Partners