They collected the freight on vessels brought into port and took an active hand in the management of all business matters between ship-owners and merchants, whether shippers or consignees, for which they were paid a fee.
The principal shipping and shipbroking centres worldwide are London, New York City, Singapore, and Tokyo, as well as where many shipowners are based such as Oslo and Athens.
Other places continue to develop in international shipping services, such as Hong Kong and Shanghai, Delhi and Mumbai, Copenhagen, Geneva, Genoa, Hamburg and Paris in Europe; and in North America, Connecticut, Houston, and Montreal are important shipbroking centres.
Like many financial services, historically shipbroking grew out of the City coffee houses, becoming established at the Baltic Exchange;[2] among its most famous members being Ernest Simpson, ex-husband of The Duchess of Windsor (died 1972), and Alderman the Lord Mountevans.
Sale & Purchase ("S&P") brokers handle the buying and selling of existing vessels in the secondhand market or contract new ships (called newbuildings in industry parlance) from shipbuilding yards.
When shipbrokers act on behalf of passive investors or financial buyers, they may also have to find time charter employment for the vessel and assist with practical arrangements such as the appointment of ship managers.