Project Cargo Summit, the event that has been gathering the breakbulk, project cargo and heavy lift community each year is going on tour and it is less than a month away. This year the event will take place in Bremen on September 6-7, and it is the first physical edition post Covid. 

Pushed by geopolitical tensions, sustainability issues, digitalisation and demand drivers, market players have had to adapt their sourcing strategies. This year’s Project Cargo Summit is all about managing digital, political and environmental demands.

The event will kick off with a site visit on September 6 , from 09:00-12:00, to the breakbulk terminal Neustädter Hafen in Bremen, Europe’s largest terminal for steel products, forestry products and project cargo.

The terminal area of approximately 100 hectares, including 240,000 square metres of covered storage space, handles around 1.4 million tons of break bulk cargo per year.

Day 1: Facing challenges and recognising the drivers

The programme of the first day will kick off with a presentation by Maaike Goslinga, deputy editor, De Correspondent, who will look into the monopolisation of the container market, which has a great impact on breakbulk shipping as well.

The programme will continue with the overview of the demand drivers within the project cargo sector, with offshore wind being the leading light currently with the ambitious goals set across the globe on the path to decarbonisation. However, offshore wind is not the single solution, as more effort is being put into carbon capture and storage projects, as well as hydrogen, but, can the supply chains handle such demand, is there competition between sectors, and how many will materialise?

Day 2: Session 2 – Supply chain under the microscope

Kicking off the second day of Project Cargo Summit, Managing Director Germany, Trans Global Projects Group (TGP), Andres Menzel will look into friendshoring and whether it was a phase or is it marking the end of a global supply chain. This will be followed by a market volatility discussion with Johan-Paul Verschuure, project director, Rebel, and Yorck Niclas Prehm, Head of Research at Toepfer Transport.

Day 2: Session 3 – Tech direction

The average age of the multipurpose fleet is growing, and a limited number of newbuilds are entering the market which raises the question of regulation compliance for the older vessels. In light of the ever stricter emissions regulations Sven Jansen, Senior Manager Sales, UECC (United European Car Carriers), and Inesa Ulichina, Sustainable Shipping Officer, Transport & Environment will look into how older vessels will be operated. Following the discussion, Maarten Sickler will provide an insight into the design of the new vessels and the Project Cargo Summit will close with a debate about the emissions-free shipping future.

The Project Cargo Summit is organised together with RailFreight Connects, an event for the railfreight and port communities organised by our sister publication RailFreight, which means there will be opportunities to cross paths during breakout sessions which will cover many more topics like predicting ETA’s in ports for better port planning, port congestion and labour shortages, among others.

You can view the full programme here, and book your spot at the Summit here.