2026 Event Agenda

* Invite only * 

Breakbulk Middle East’s inaugural Executive Summit will bring together top executives from across the project cargo supply chain. This closed-door, invite-only event is designed as a candid, collaborative forum for senior leaders to share pain points, exchange strategies, and gain insight into how peers are navigating today’s uncertainty to anticipate future success.

* Additional purchase required *

This half-day workshop, presented in partnership with the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers, is an intermediate level course that provides a deeper understanding of chartering principles and applications. It is suitable for full-time chartering professionals as well as those who work with chartering contracts. This is a half day workshop and includes one networking coffee break. You will need to be available to attend the full course to be eligible for your certificate of attendance.

* Additional purchase required *

This workshop is designed for professionals involved in the transport and logistics of project cargo. The course covers the fundamentals of heavy lift logistics, emphasizing sea-based transport. This is a half day workshop and includes one networking coffee break.

* Additional purchase required * 

AI is increasingly shaping logistics, but how relevant is it to breakbulk and project cargo? This session demystifies AI by providing real-world applications in transport engineering, vessel operations, and supply chain tracking. Learn how companies are using AI for efficiency gains, risk mitigation, and automation without replacing the human element. This is a half-day workshop and includes one networking coffee break. You will need to be available to attend for the whole duration to be eligible to collect your certification at the end.

National Anthem of the UAE

Government Opening Remarks

Industry Opening Remarks

From mega infrastructure programs to industrial diversification, the Middle East is entering a new phase of project activity that is reshaping trade and transport dynamics. This keynote will provide a high-level view of the region’s project landscape, examining how investment flows, policy shifts, and new trade corridors are driving demand for breakbulk and project logistics. Offering a strategic perspective across multiple markets, it sets the stage for a day of discussion on opportunities, challenges, and the evolving role of the region in global cargo flows.

From Red Sea attacks and Iran-Israel tensions to piracy and sanctions, geopolitical instability is forcing operators to reroute vessels, rewrite contracts, and rethink risk. This session dives into the operational impact of today’s hot spots, exploring force majeure, contingency planning, and real-world strategies to keep project cargo moving when trade lanes are no longer predictable.

With no clear consensus on the fuel of the future, operators face high-stakes choices: invest now in hydrogen, e-fuels, or LNG, or wait for certainty. This session places fuels at the heart of the sustainability debate, examining cost pressures, financing challenges, and whether new technologies are truly bankable. It will also address evolving policy frameworks, ESG standards, and port restrictions on “dirty” vessels, asking what’s really driving investment decisions – and whether fuels are a margin-killer or the next source of competitive advantage. 

Saudi, UAE, and Qatari giga projects are shaping the future of project logistics not just nationally, but with new corridors into Iraq and beyond emerging. This session explores the strategic role of mega and giga projects, and what they mean for Gulf connectivity. It will also address constraints including dredger shortages, rising project costs, and global heavy-lift shipping demands.

Showcasing successful initiatives like Port of NEOM’s crane operator program and wider inclusion strategies for women across maritime and logistics, particularly in senior roles.

This opening presentation will provide a data-driven snapshot of the multipurpose and heavy-lift fleet, highlighting trends in age, orderbook activity, and regional deployment. With capacity tight and compliance costs rising, it sets the stage for the discussion on vessel availability, costs, and crew challenges that follows.

Global shipping is grappling with a perfect storm: shipyard slots are scarce, newbuild prices have skyrocketed, and offshore fleets face aging vessels with poor ROI on replacement. At the same time, a widening talent gap – exacerbated by rising crew costs and a new generation less willing to go to sea – is leaving operators short-handed. This session examines how these pressures are reshaping vessel supply, crew dynamics, and project cargo flows, with a regional lens on the Red Sea, tariff shocks, and political instability.

New investment across Africa’s infrastructure, shipping, and mining industries is transforming trade with the Middle East. With Gulf investors moving into critical minerals and new trade corridors via Gulf ports, this session explores opportunities and challenges in building stronger Africa–Middle East logistics partnerships.

* Additional purchase required *
 

Join the 70th BUSINESSrun during Breakbulk Middle East - a unique event combining running, networking, and charity under the motto "Running for a Cause, Connecting for Success." Open to all experience levels with 5k and 10k routes along the beautiful Dubai Marina.

With ambitions to move 95 million tonnes of freight annually by 2045, rail is set to become the missing link in GCC logistics – reducing port congestion, cutting carbon footprints, and reshaping cargo movement. However, the network is at an early stage, and integration with project cargo and breakbulk logistics is incomplete. This session will focus on how soon – and how far – rail can support the scale and complexity of project logistics across the region, and will examine the operational hurdles around financing, interoperability, wagons, and terminals.

As the Middle East balances upstream oil investment, LNG expansion, solar mega-projects and emerging nuclear options, the region’s unique energy mix is reshaping project cargo flows. This session examines the practical realities behind the demand for transition – where oil and gas remain central, how renewables are scaling, and why nuclear small modular reactors (SMRs) are gaining traction for powering data centers and industry.

Startups present breakthrough logistics and supply chain technologies to a panel of investors and industry leaders in a high-energy format. 

Gain exclusive insights from shippers as they discuss the latest project cargo opportunities, future market directions, and the evolving dynamics of project cargo. Panelists will explore how digital innovations, market entrants, and changing business priorities are transforming strategies and shaping tomorrow’s logistics landscape.

AI is being rolled out in state-backed programs across the Middle East, with governments and industry leaders accelerating adoption to drive efficiency, improve safety, reskill blue-collar workers, and unlock new value in project logistics. This session goes beyond hype to showcase real-world use cases, exploring where AI is delivering real impact, including predictive logistics, workflow transformation and cargo visibility.

With an ageing workforce, crew shortages, and stalling recruitment, the industry faces a critical human shortage. What can be done to attract, retain, and protect the next generation of maritime and logistics talent? What role will AI play in reskilling, or plugging some of the gaps?