La Nostra Storia

Enterprise Shipping Agency (ESA) was established in 1947 under the name of “Frank L. Bradshaw”.  The Agency began to operate as “Manning Agent” from Via Fieschi 8/7, an address we have maintained ever since.

Frank L. Bradshaw was a Colonel of the RAF.  Following the end of World War II Colonel Bradshaw discharged himself from the RAF and opened an office in Via Fieschi as an agent for B.E.A., today a part of British Airways.

Whilst fulfilling his duty during the Second World War Colonel Bradshaw met United States Maritime Commission’s Admiral Loveland.  At the end of the war Admiral Loveland was among those responsible for assigning surplus navy vessels (Liberty ships and T2 tankers) to ship owners who had lost their own ships as a consequence of the war.



The Italian merchant fleet was completely destroyed by the war and the country found it had an abundance of qualified mariners who were inundating the workforce.  These mariners were soon asked to board foreign fleets.  They began operating for petrol companies and private operators and although the fleets were predominantly from Panama and Liberia they operated in the interests and under the control of the United States.

In 1952 Admiral Loveland, remembering his friend and colleague Colonel Bradshaw, decided to ask Colonel Bradshaw to begin the selection and employment of Italian mariners for the T2 tanker Elisabeth Flannigan.  Following this, in 1955, Colonel Bradshaw again began hiring mariners.  This time providing the crew for the new petrol tanker T/T Alliance, operating for Naess Mejandler Co. of New York.

In the same year Naess Mejandler Co. decided to expand their fleet.  The construction of the fleet was undertaken by highly prestigious Japanese shipyards, and Naess Mejandler Co. asked that the provision of mariners be exclusive to Colonel Bradshaw, ensuring the quality of crew and service.

Thus the arrival of the first nine Japanese ships:

1956: T.T. Naess Companion; T.T. Naess Venturer; T.T. Enterprise; T.T. Naess Crusader;
1957: T.T. Naess Mariner, T.T. Naess Chief; M/N Naess Liberty;
1958: T.T. Naess Leander; T.T. Naess Explorer;
1959: T.T. Naess Challenger;
1960: T.T. Naess Voyager; T.T. Naess Thunder; T.T. Benjamin Coates.

The growth of ESA continued during the 1970’s with the introduction of a new type of ship; the OBO (Oil, Bulk and Ore Carrier).  Colonel Bradshaw was the first to supply the crew for an OBO, the Naess Norseman, in Italy.  The OBO was an innovation in the shipping world.  OBO’s were able to transport oil, carbon, minerals and wheat.

The Naess