Gibson Shipbrokers

Name

Gibson Shipbrokers

Legal name

E.A. Gibson Shipbrokers Ltd

Website

https://gibsons.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1893

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices7 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Shipbroking Commissions: Gibson earns commissions on chartering, sale & purchase, and time charter transactions executed for shipowners, charterers, and traders across its global office network. Services span tankers (crude, clean, specialised, chemical), gas (LPG, ammonia, LNG), and dry cargo.
2. Gibson Capital — Maritime Finance Advisory: Provides specialised maritime finance and advisory services including first mortgage debt, mezzanine debt, financial/operating leasebacks, equity products, M&A advisory, capital structure solutions, debt restructuring, and loan management. Joined Gibson platform in August 2025 from RMK Maritime (Europe) Ltd. Approximately $10b in capital deployed or advised on for the maritime sector and $6b in vessel S&P or M&A transactions brokered.
3. Ship Valuations: Gibson provides certified ship valuations for leading shipping banks, maritime courts, underwriters, claims adjusters, oil majors, and ship owners. Impartial expert witness services for arbitrations. Offers one-off, multiple/fleet, and bespoke retainer arrangements for vessel valuations.
4. Consultancy & Research: Provides bespoke consulting services, long-term forecasts, feasibility studies, and data services leveraging in-house expertise of brokers and analysts. Also sells published registers (Tanker and Gas Carrier Registers at approximately £275 per copy).
5. Newsletter & Report Subscription: Weekly and periodic market reports on tanker, gas, and dry cargo markets distributed via newsletter subscription. Gibson publishes 137+ Tanker Market Reports and multiple S&P and Projects reports annually.
6. Gibson Freight Rate API Access: API access providing real-time and historical freight rate data across Crude, Clean/Dirty Products, LPG and LNG. Offered as a commercial data product with trial access and structured JSON output for system integration.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Gibson Shipbrokers provides shipbroking and advisory services across tanker, gas carrier, LNG, dry cargo, and specialised vessel segments. Offerings include chartering brokerage (voyage and time charter), sale and purchase (S&P) of vessels, projects and specialised cargo broking, consultancy and research, ship valuations, maritime finance advisory through Gibson Capital, and a commercial freight rate data API (Gibson Freight Rate API).

Product overview

Gibson Shipbrokers is a 100% employee-owned shipbroking firm with over 130 years of experience, offering a comprehensive suite of shipping and advisory services. The core offering consists of eight specialist broking divisions: Tankers (crude and clean products), LPG/Ammonia/Petrochemical Gases, LNG, Dry Cargo, Sale & Purchase, Specialised & Chemical Tankers, Projects & Time Charter, and Consultancy & Research. These are complemented by Gibson Capital, a maritime finance and advisory division (rebranded from RMK Maritime in 2025), and the Gibson Freight Rate API for real-time freight data integration. The company operates seven offices globally (London, Singapore, Dubai, Athens, Mumbai, Hong Kong, and Houston).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Tankers
• LPG, Ammonia & Petrochemical Gases
• Sale & Purchase (S&P)
• Specialised & Chemical Tankers
• Projects & Time Charter
• Consultancy & Research
• LNG
• Dry Cargo
• Gibson Capital
• Gibson Freight Rate API Commercial API providing freight rate data for use by shipping market participants in their own analytics, pricing, and decision systems.

Quantifiable outcome

• 180 employees across 7 offices in 9 countries with over 130 years of experience
• +10 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• RMK Maritime (Europe) LtdcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 August 2025RMK Maritime (Europe) Ltd joined forces with E.A. Gibson Shipbrokers effective 1 August 2025, rebranded as E.A. Gibson Capital. The integration combines deep financial advisory experience (debt, leasing, equity, M&A, restructuring) with Gibson's global broking insight, offering a more complete solution to the maritime sector. Richard Moore, Co-Founder and former MD of RMK Maritime, leads the new Gibson Capital division as Director.

Scale indicators23 records

Recent moves11 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Poten & Partners: LNG and tanker specialist shipbroker; Romain Grandbesancon joined Gibson from Poten. Closely comparable in LNG chartering depth and US West Coast tanker presence.
• Clarkson PLC (Clarksons): The world's largest publicly listed shipbroker, offering tankers, gas, dry cargo, S&P, offshore and research across a global office network. Directly comparable on every major Gibson desk (tankers, LNG, LPG, S&P, Projects).
• Braemar (Braemar ACM): London-based shipbroker covering tankers, dry cargo, S&P, offshore and finance advisory. Ed Romer-Lee's prior firm; competes head-to-head with Gibson in crude and product tanker broking.
• BRS (Barry Roglian Salles): Global shipbroker covering tankers, dry cargo, gas and S&P across Europe, Asia and the Americas. Direct competitor on multi-segment chartering mandates.
• Fearnleys: Norwegian-headquartered shipbroker and ship finance adviser with strong offshore, tanker and S&P coverage. Overlaps with Gibson in sale & purchase and offshore/chemical segments.
• Howe Robinson Partners: London shipbroker covering tankers, dry cargo and S&P. Comparable boutique-tier competitor with similar relationship-driven model and global office footprint.
• Galbraith's: Independent UK shipbroker with tankers, dry cargo and S&P desks. Closest like-for-like peer given its size, full-service model and similar client base.
• Platou (Höegh LNG-adjacent / Peters Brothers): Norwegian shipbroker covering S&P, newbuildings and chartering. Strong in offshore and project cargo, overlapping with Gibson's Projects & Time Charter desk.

Emerging players

• Veson Nautical: Maritime data and voyage management software provider whose IMOS platform is used by many of the same owners and charterers Gibson serves. Comparable on the data/insight side rather than the broking side.

Others

• Baltic Exchange: Source of benchmark freight indices (Baltic Dirty/Clean) referenced across the industry. Adjacent infrastructure provider rather than a direct competitor, but ecosystem-relevant.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/shippingenergy
• LinkedInuk.linkedin.com/company/e-a-gibson-shipbrokers-ltd

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Subsidiaries8 records

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 Gibson Shipbrokers