What Marcon International does

Marcon International is an employee-owned maritime brokerage and consulting firm founded in 1981 in Coupeville, Washington, specializing in vessel and barge transactions for the offshore petroleum, marine construction, and towing industries. The firm facilitates sales, time/voyage/bareboat charters, new construction project brokering, and valuation services globally, with a documented track record of 1,614+ transactions cumulatively valued at over US$1.5 billion since its first sale in 1983.

The underlying technology is an internal information management system tracking over 17,000 actively listed vessels and barges plus archives on 26,000+ additional vessels, accessed via a public-facing searchable website (marcon.com) that supports vessel/barge search, tow quote requests, owner listing submissions, and semiannual market reports and newsletters. Marcon explicitly does not offer a public API, SDK, or proprietary algorithmic platform; its differentiator is broker expertise rather than software.

The business model is commission-based brokerage on a "no cure, no pay" basis: 5% on the first US$1 million of sale or charter price and 2.5% on the balance, with two-broker splits where applicable. Supplementary revenue comes from per-engagement valuation, appraisal, market analysis, and consulting services (over 950 reports covering 4,200+ vessels since 2000). Go-to-market is sales-led through direct broker relationships, supported by content marketing (newsletters, market reports), the searchable online database, and professional network referrals. Customers span vessel owners, buyers, charterers, E&P operators, marine construction firms, and tug/tow operators across the USA, Singapore, the UK, Brazil, the UAE, the US Virgin Islands, and Nigeria, with no named anchor accounts disclosed.

Name

Marcon International

Legal name

Marcon International, Inc.

Website

https://marcon.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1981

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Marcon International is an employee-owned maritime brokerage firm, founded in 1981, providing vessel sales, charters, new construction brokering, and valuation services to the offshore petroleum, marine construction, and towing industries worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Maritime Brokerage Services

NAICS

Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers (42512)

SIC

Water Transportation (4400)

akta.pro primary industry

Ocean Freight Brokerage (FCL/LCL) (TLADAMAF)

Keywords

• Maritime brokerage services
• Vessel sales charters
• Marine consulting services
• Ship brokerage firm
• Barge vessel sales

Headquarters

HQ city

Coupeville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Brokerage Commission - Sales: Commission on vessel and barge sales, calculated at 5% on the first US$1 million of sale price and 2.5% on the balance. If two brokers are involved, the commission is split. Commission for high-value vessels and barges may vary.
2. Brokerage Commission - Charters: Commission on time, voyage, and bareboat charters for vessels and barges. Commission structure follows the same tiered rate as sales (5%/2.5% split).
3. Valuation and Consulting Services: Individualized valuation reports, market analysis, and consulting services performed on a per-engagement basis for fleet-wide and individual vessel appraisals, project charter rate projections for acquisitions and newbuilds, and physical inspections. Note: Marcon is not a certified appraiser or surveyor, so reports are statements of opinion based on broker expertise.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Marcon International is a maritime brokerage firm that facilitates the global sale and charter of vessels and barges for the offshore petroleum, marine construction, and towing industries. The firm operates on a commission-only basis (no upfront listing fees), arranging vessel sales, time/voyage/bareboat charters, and new construction project facilitation, and provides standalone valuation and consulting services on a per-engagement basis.

Product overview

Marcon International operates as a maritime brokerage and consulting platform offering a unified portfolio of vessel and barge transaction services. The core offering consists of vessel and barge sales brokerage, charter arrangement services (time, voyage, and bareboat), and new construction project facilitation. Supporting services include valuation services (appraisals, market analysis, and physical inspections), a searchable online vessel/barge database, and published market reports and newsletters covering offshore, inland, and tug market segments. The company tracks over 17,000 vessels and barges in its internal information management system and has facilitated over 1,614 sales and charters valued at over US $1.5 billion since its first transaction in 1983.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Vessel and Barge Sales Brokerage Core brokerage service facilitating the worldwide purchase and sale of commercial vessels and barges, including tugs, push boats, supply boats, AHTS vessels, tank barges, deck barges, crew/pilot boats, utility boats, and other maritime assets, for owners, operators, and buyers in the offshore petroleum, marine construction, and towing industries.
• Charter Brokerage Services Arrangement of time, voyage, and bareboat charters for vessels and barges, matching charter-free vessels with employment opportunities for charterers in the offshore petroleum, marine construction, and towing industries.
• Valuation and Consulting Services Individualized valuation reports and consulting services for fleet-wide and individual vessel appraisals, project charter rate projections for acquisitions and newbuilds, market analysis, and physical inspections. Reports are statements of opinion based on broker expertise; Marcon is not a certified appraiser or surveyor.
• New Construction Project Facilitation Brokerage services facilitating new vessel construction projects, connecting buyers with shipyards and managing project development for newbuild vessels.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 1,614 vessels and barges sold or chartered, valued at over US $1.5 billion
• +1 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• George Morrison Shipping: UK-based shipbroker (Leith, Edinburgh) covering sale & purchase and liner agency. Martin Coombe worked here before joining Marcon; comparable in scale and segment focus though geographically oriented to UK shipowners.
• Eastport Maritime: Smaller shipbroker active in the offshore/tug/barge segments. Comparable niche segment focus though primarily serves different geographic markets (Europe/Mediterranean) than Marcon's North American base.

Direct peers

• Braemar ACM Shipbroking: London-based shipbroker covering sale & purchase, chartering, and offshore across tankers, dry cargo, and offshore. Directly comparable shipbroking services for similar owner/operator clients in offshore and marine construction segments.
• Clarkson PLC (Clarksons): Largest publicly listed shipbroker globally, offering sale & purchase, chartering, offshore, and research/valuation services across all vessel segments. Closest large-scale analog to Marcon's brokerage-plus-valuation model, though at far greater scale and broader segment coverage.
• Howe Robinson Partners: Independent shipbroking firm providing sale & purchase, chartering, and valuation services. Comparable mid-sized shipbroker with similar transaction-driven model and global owner/operator client base.
• Simpson Spence Young: Independent shipbroking and research house covering tankers, dry bulk, and offshore. Directly comparable in combining traditional brokerage with research and valuation products serving shipowner and bank clients.
• Seabrokers AS: Aberdeen-based offshore broker covering sale & purchase, chartering, and newbuilds in the offshore/OSV space. Marcon broker Martin Coombe worked here previously; directly comparable in OSV/offshore segment focus.
• Poten & Partners: Specialist shipbroker focused on tankers and offshore vessels, with strong valuation and consulting practice. Closely comparable to Marcon's niche offshore and OSV brokerage combined with valuation services.

Emerging players

• Maritime Strategies International: Niche maritime consultancy and research firm offering vessel valuations, market analysis, and strategic advisory. Comparable to Marcon's valuation/consulting practice rather than its core brokerage.
• VesselsValue: Data-driven vessel valuation platform using automated analytics. Not a direct broker but represents the technological alternative to Marcon's manual valuation methodology — a potential competitive threat as well as adjacent market participant.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Marcon_Int

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 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 Marcon International