Steve’s Career in the Bristol Shipping Fraternity

Steve left school aged 16 and joined Mark Whitwill & Son Ltd in the Queens Square Office in the centre of Bristol as a Junior Shipping Clerk in the Liner Department.

He progressed into ships agency attending to vessels in the Bristol City Docks with imports mostly of Wood pulp and Timber cargoes and at times assisted the agency staff at the Avonmouth Docks.

During the mid-60’s the company moved to offices based in Avonmouth, the company became (after twice being taken over) Lovell Hodder, Whitwill (made up of C Shaw Lovell, James & Hodder and Mark Whitwill)

During this time Steve was sent to Barry in South Wales to operate the agency for a freight only Ro/Ro service which lasted until the early 70’s. Steve then returned to the Avonmouth Office but then sought a change and so joined Tideways Shipping Agencies, based in the Gloucestershire port of Sharpness. The company being general agents to a Liner Trade, operating 7-9 time-chartered vessels with general cargo to a private berth in Apapa, Nigeria.

During the early 80’s The Nigerian Government closed all private berths for imports resulting in Tideways being only left with a small agency department and the business was sold on to Melton Shipping who were unable to make it work. With 2 partners Steve purchased the company and ran the business unto May 1995. After the demise of Tideways Shipping, he was then employed to run D & B Shipping, also based in Sharpness, which was formed to service the remaining trade contacts. In August 2024 Steve became the sole owner of D & B Shipping however, with the change in ownership of Sharpness Dock by the Victora Group he encouraged a number of clients to move their business to Avonmouth Docks to protect the trade.

With support for the Bristol Port Company Steve was able to trade at Avonmouth until August 2022 when he retired and left the company in the hands of Cory Brothers.

Steve was always a strong supporter of the then Bristol Steamship Owners Association and it has been said that Steve was the best President the Association” never” had.