Programme

It has never been more important for breakbulk shippers, carriers, ports and logistics service providers to possess timely, sophisticated market and business intelligence. Our opening keynote will share the latest global insights affecting the breakbulk shipping world in this high-level presentation, providing tools to help industry members to navigate uncertainty, rising costs, and changing policies in a challenging era of global trade.

Steel manufacturers are breathing a sigh of relief as newly-approved EU trade measures promise to reinforce tariff-rate quota systems and protect against import surges. Industry and trade groups say these moves will protect EU steel manufacturing from global overproduction and surges of cheap imports. However, many pressures remain. Breakbulk and mixed-use terminals have seen erratic cargo flows that make investment planning difficult and have led carriers to rationalize port calls. Labor able to handle ever-more refined steel products is ever more difficult to recruit and train. And goals for green steel production remain elusive as clients shy away from higher costs. What does the map forward look like? Our panel of experienced industry members will share their insights during this panel session.

As the global economy evolves, the EU is shifting toward a sharper focus on self-reliance or “strategic autonomy” that includes energy generation and dissemination, protecting key industries, strengthening ports, and building stronger defense. The project and breakbulk cargo logistics supply chain will be directly affected by these efforts. This push will shape trade within and beyond the EU, which is also planning to fund strategic autonomy-related projects such as alternative fuels, decarbonization, productivity improvement, energy, and port upgrades, among others. Johan-Paul Verschuure, director and partner with the Rebel Advisory Port and Logistics team, will discuss these crucial new trends in detail.

Managing breakbulk and project cargo supply chain logistics has always been complex, but today the industry is moving quickly from one global disruption to the next. Strong global demand for energy infrastructure keeps project and breakbulk cargo moving, but owners and logistics service providers must also navigate shifting regulations, tariffs and shipping environments. Red tape and regulations add complexity. Our panel of industry experts will discuss the strategies and resources that help them thrive today and prepare for the future.

The global multipurpose fleet, including heavy-lift carriers, remains optimistic despite geopolitical turmoil and economic uncertainty, but high tariffs and quotas, opaque regulatory regimes and risky geopolitics complicate the picture. Cargo out of Asia, South America and other regions and into the EU and US are keeping the sector busy, but newbuilding orders remain low and the fleet seems satisfied with the status quo. Industry experts and members will discuss the fleet outlook and the implications for the breakbulk logistics market in depth.

Moving heavy equipment and oversized cargo from here to there has never been more challenging. Cargo transport always requires meticulous planning, but permitting and infrastructure weaknesses increase frustrations for the logistics service providers, including truck, engineered transport, barge and rail, who move heavy cargo across country and county lines in the EU. How can stakeholders plan for and streamline these roadblocks? Our industry experts and analysts will map out solutions and strategies at the Breakbulk Summit.

Europe’s short sea fleet carries an enormous and crucial percentage of coastal cargo, much of it breakbulk and much of it related to the surging energy generation buildout. Regulatory compliance is increasingly challenging, especially for older vessels, but can newbuildings add sufficient capacity to replace them? Sector analysts and key operators will discuss short-sea shipping in depth.

One crucial need -- the ability to attract, train and retain new talent -- unites breakbulk carriers, ports, stevedores, cargo owners, manufacturers and project forwarders. Is there a distinctive “breakbulk personality” that tends to thrive in the industry? And who will pass down the knowledge needed to thrive in the complex, challenging world of breakbulk logistics as an older generation retires? The hands-on, boots-on-the-ground world of breakbulk has been slow to modernize, but digitization and AI may offer ways to capture knowledge before it’s lost, helping a new generation finds its place in the relationship-driven world of breakbulk cargo.