BURKE & NOVI

The story of this Group starts at the beginning of the 20th century, when Genoa experienced a great shipping development with American and British oil and coal companies, as well as merchant banks and insurance companies, opening offices in our town.

The company was originally established in 1900 by Edmund Burke, great-grand-father of Enrico Burke, and continued its activity with the interruption of the second world war, under various styles, the best known being "John Burke Shipbroker", until 1961, when Enrico Burke and Giovanni Novi established "Burke & Novi".
At the beginning, Enrico Burke was mainly in charge of drycargo chartering and sale and purchase, whilst Giovanni Novi concentrated on the tanker market.

In 1966, Giovanni's brother Franco joined the partnership. He took up the drycargo baton with Enrico Burke, and the two continued developing the department including sale and purchase of any type of vessels and in particular specializing in newbuilding contracting.
But in June 1967, the Israelis launched six days of pre-emptive attacks on Egypt, Syria and Jordan. The Suez Canal was closed and east-west trades had to deviate around the Cape of Good Hope. The tankers department became frantically busy. Enrico moved across to lend a temporary hand, and this soon became a permanent state of affairs.

In 1984 Franco became Consul of the Kingdom of Thailand. He was President of Fonasba in the years 1986-87 and President of Federagenti from 1992 to 1996.
Since several years, Enrico's activity is mainly concentrated in developing special projects as well as following the fleets of some close clients.

The backbone of the Company is represented by tanker and drycargo chartering, as well sale and purchase of vessels of any type including newbuilding contracting. Other important activities of the Company are: ship repairs, bunker and luboils supply, shipagency and special projects.
Since many years Burke & Novi issue a weekly summary of the most important facts and events in the market ("Notizie Flash della Settimana"), generally much appreciated not only in the shipping but also in the banking and industrial circles.

All the above is achieved through the assistance of first class and highly specialised brokers and traders and of skilled multi-lingual post-fixture personnel.

The company's executives are also involved as organisers and teaching staff of the main qualifying and updating courses for shipbrokers.

Alessandra Burke, daughter of Enrico, joined the company in 1989, as first member of the new generation, she is, today, well known in the sale and purchase market and was recently made a Member of the Board and a Partner in the Company. Andrea joined the Company in 1992 and Alessandro Novi in 1999, they are sons of Giovanni and were also recently made Members of the Board and Partners; they both significantly contributed and are contributing to the success of the tanker chartering department.

In February 2004, Giovanni Novi was appointed Chairman of the Genoa Port Authority and consequently the Company, regrettably, lost one of its founding partners.