Coastlink highlights sustainable port transformation

Session Two will focus on how distribution networks are evolving as supply chains adapt to rising sustainability expectations without compromising reliability. Against a backdrop of port congestion, shifting funding models and changing trade patterns, the discussion will explore how feeder and short-sea services are being reshaped to remain resilient and commercially viable.

Panellists will examine the growing role of shipping routes as ‘motorways of the sea’, and how operators are safeguarding schedule integrity while navigating increasingly complex European port operations. The session brings together perspectives from across the supply chain, with contributions from Tracy Jin, business development manager at the Port of Esbjerg; Richard Newton, client director at Maersk Logistics and Services UK & Ireland; Justin Atkin, UK & Ireland pepresentative at Port of Antwerp-Bruges; and Paul Hatley, lead commercial manager at Associated British Ports.

Together, they will offer a grounded view of how sustainable distribution is being delivered in practice, highlighting innovation in services, collaboration between ports and logistics providers and the commercial realities shaping route viability.

Electrification will be a key theme in a separate Growth and Transformation in RoRo session, where Tania Berry, electrical capability lead at maritime consultancy BMT, will discuss how ports are increasingly treating electrification as a commercial baseline rather than a future aspiration.

The discussion will explore how RoRo terminals are integrating electrification into operational planning as a means to boost efficiency, resilience and long-term competitiveness, alongside decarbonisation goals.

Read the full conference programme here.

Coastlink welcomes AI-driven platform, Awake.AI, as delegate badge sponsor this year. Read more about how AI is reshaping green port operations.