Profile
Our main focus is the Cruise Industry. We are one of the few cruise dedicated Shipping Agents in Portugal, with Cruise Calls representing 80% of our Company’s Ship Agency business in Lisbon, Leixões and Portimão. We are currently Agents for many of the major International Cruise Companies.
With regards to our Sines Office 90% of our Agency business falls into the Tramp Shipping category. We were accredited with the ISO 9001 by Lloyds Register of Quality Assurance, for the quality of our service provided, each and every call is accessed by the vessels.
History
James Rawes is a long-established Lisbon based Group. We are Port Agents, Claims, Survey and Settling Agents.
The Company was born in the early 1860’s from a partnership between two British gentlemen, Richard Knowles and James Rawes Jnr, who set up business together as traders in Lisbon under the name of “Knowles, Rawes & Co”. In 1866 the company was nominated Agents for the Royal Mail Lines, who at the time operated a regular service from the UK via Lisbon to/from South America as well as Agents for The Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company (now P&O Cruises). Our Lisbon Office has been Agents for Lloyd’s of London since October of 1873.
In January of 1896 the company’s name was changed to “James Rawes & Co” and in 1946 to “James Rawes & Ca Lda”. At the end of 2009 it was decided, for commercial reasons, that the structure of the company should change and as of March 2010 James Rawes became a Holding Company under the name of James Rawes SGPS, Lda detaining three companies; James Rawes Navegação, Lda (Shipping Division), James Rawes Peritagens, Lda (Surveys and Claims Division) and James Rawes Turismo, Lda (Tour Operator Division). In August 2015, James Rawes Turismo was sold back to the Rawes family and left the Holding Company.
Although the Company is no longer 100% family owned, having taken on a partner in 1992, the Rawes family are still present in the daily running of the company, Malcolm Lancelot Rawes, who is the founders’ great grandson, is currently joint Managing Director of our Holding Company and still has an active participation in the Company’s day to day and Catarina Rawes, who is the great, great granddaughter of the founder, James Rawes and the 5th generation of the Rawes family to work at the company, joined the company in 1998 and became joint Managing Director of James Rawes Navegação, Lda in 2015.
We are one of the oldest Port Agents and Claims, Survey and Settling Agents in Portugal, having offered a dedicated service for over a century and we are still considered one of the main Companies in Portugal in these fields.
