Breakbulk and Project Cargo: Navigating the Chaos Wrought by War in Middle East

Geopolitical volatility in the Middle East is again reshaping how breakbulk and project cargo moves — by sea and by air — and the stakes for schedule certainty, safety, and cost have rarely been higher. At the end of February, joint US-Israeli air strikes on Iran, followed by retaliatory attacks across the Middle East brought sea and air movements of breakbulk and project cargoes to a standstill, creating a fast-moving risk landscape for heavy-lift, out-of-gauge, and time-critical shipments. In this timely hourlong webcast, industry specialists will unpack what these developments mean for project forwarders, EPCs, carriers, brokers, and cargo owners moving equipment for energy, infrastructure, mining, and industrial builds. The session will connect the geopolitical headlines to the realities of execution: diversion planning, re-routing mid-transit, port-call and transshipment risks, and sea corridor constraints that can affect charter availability, payload planning, and permissions.

The webcast will conclude with an outlook for the second quarter of 2026, highlighting scenarios that could stabilize — or further disrupt — reliability for project cargo corridors linking the Gulf and Europe-Asia and what we can expect to discuss at Breakbulk26 in New Orleans on April 20-22.