Project Cargo Professionals
2025 in Review, 2026 Ahead | The Project Cargo Professionals Christmas Special
20 Dec 2025
In the PCP Christmas Special, a group of senior project cargo professionals sit down with host Luke King to reflect on a turbulent 2025 — and look ahead to what 2026 may bring for the heavy lift and project cargo sector.Over good food and candid discussion, the group touches on:Market volatility, geopolitics and regulatory pressureFleet development, capacity and the role of specialist tonnageTariffs, compliance and rising customer expectationsThe growing importance of partnerships over price-only decisionsWhy attracting young talent matters more than everWhy companies should to “open their hearts and minds” to allWhat the industry should leave behind in 2025 — and what gives cause for optimism next yearIt’s thoughtful, honest and occasionally heart-warming — the kind of conversation that usually only happens after the cameras stop rolling.Featuring:• Hendrik “Henk” Alma, logistics manager, NEM Energy• Aditya “Adi” Menon, commercial director, Blue Bell Shipping• Peter Molloy LLM, FICS, managing director, Sea3R• John Pittalis, marketing director, AAL Shipping📍 Recorded in Rotterdam, The Netherlands👉 Connect with the cast of the PCP Christmas Special on LinkedIn:Luke King: https://www.linkedin.com/in/luke-king-5a83477/Hendrik “Henk” Alma: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hendrik-alma-51969137/Aditya “Adi” Menon: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aditya-menon-5359a2a8/Peter Molloy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peter-molloy-llm-fics-6aaa5658/John Pittalis: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yiannis-pittalis-865b775/For all business enquires relating to the podcast, email [email protected] and visit https://www.projectcargopros.com/About Our Sponsor: Blue Bell ShippingBlue Bell Shipping LLC is a global logistics provider with over 30 years’ experience delivering end-to-end freight solutions worldwide. The company specialises in project cargo, air charters, rig moves, dangerous goods and reefer shipments, supported by a strong international network. With dedicated teams, including oil and gas specialists, Blue Bell Shipping delivers reliable, door-to-door logistics across the Middle East, Central Asia, Australia and beyond.👉 Visit https://bluebellshipping.com/
Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Actually, this is the first time I'm announcing that, so you have a little scoop there.
We have a friend in the US who's making things change very quickly. I'm excited to see what they do.
I really believe in them.
We're talking about companies who proudly flew the flag for MPP shipping for a long time. And it was a wake-up call to all of us.
You will need all the great assets you can find, and you can find them in that community.
So it's probably a good moment to look back on 2025. Let's start with our highlights of the year. What are we raising a glass to? Peter, what was your highlight of the year, either professional or personal?
Oh, highlight of the year. Professionally, yeah, I mean, as we talked earlier, I have my own company, so that's doing pretty well. We've launched a portal now. So we kind of moved our reporting into like a digital space. a digital platform. Also with Drury, I mean, it's just in general, Breakbulk has always been a great event. It was always quite interesting to meet everybody. That's a highlight.
In general, it's from an analytical point of view, it's been a tough year. Why? I mean, we have a friend in the US who's making things change very quickly, which keeps you busy. Who would that be? I don't know. But yeah, it makes things change very quickly, which means, you know, especially when you're working in forecasting, it makes it challenging, makes it interesting, but challenging.
And when we spoke last week, you were in Hong Kong.
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Chapter 2: What were the highlights of 2025 for project cargo professionals?
When I first came ashore, They were exams I did to learn about commercial shipping. And then I qualified. You basically become a member through passing exams. And then I was involved in setting up the branch here in the Netherlands. Then I went on to the membership committee globally. So they have branches all over the world and we mess in Hong Kong, all the chair people to work out what's next.
And for example, they're looking at a dedicated brake bulk and project cargo subjects. So yeah, I suppose that's another highlight. So we need to call you Mr. Chairman from now on? No, not at all. Just call me Pete. I'm not really good at the formal stuff, but it's a nice challenge. I like it. It's all voluntary. It's kind of giving back.
I've done very well out of the network I've gotten from the ICS, so I'm very happy to help out with it really.
Henk, what about you? What was the highlight of your year?
Yeah, this is a good one. I saw the question before and I figured like, okay, what is the highlight of 2025? I think ongoing things, good health, things are picking up profession-wise, getting more busier, so that's a good sign. Nothing worse than having nothing to do. So that's very, that's truly positive. I like that.
For the rest, yeah, I think, and this sounds like a cliche, but I'm grateful and happy for every day in life. of life.
But President Trump's been keeping you busy as well. A lot of your stuff's going to the US.
Oh, boy. He kept me up at night. So, yeah. Not in the most pleasant way, I can tell you that. I mean, no offence to the man, but as I said in an earlier conversation we had, when I also visited the DUC, the shipper's room was more like a panic room. People were like, we're calculating every day and the status and that kind of stuff.
And I think we as Dutch are a little bit more sober in that one.
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Chapter 3: How did market volatility and geopolitics affect the industry in 2025?
Like, okay, you see all kinds of panics and you can do a lot of things which you already know you have no influence in. So let that storm swirl out of the area and see what is left and what can you do about it. And it's not only Trump with his regulations. Europe has also its fair share.
But yeah, customers have become now more demanding as it becomes in regards to classification of goods, the traceability of origins. We have to provide information all the way, and it needs to be traceable, right? To mill certificates in very specific detail. Now that's not easy. We fabricate all over the world. in various shops. And those shops, they source also from various origins.
So that is quite a challenge. We worked on that actually. Gradually, we hired an extra ECC officer for that to assist. We also added an ECC external advising bureau for this one because obviously we are not a big multinational. We are NEM 250 FTEs operating worldwide, strong focus on America. So we have to deal with all these complicated effects and keep monitoring the developments.
But I think all in all, it's still a challenge, but we will be okay on that one.
So if your clients are demanding all this extra information that presumably has a knock-on effect to your freight forwarders, your shipping lines, you're having to demand that from your suppliers as well?
Yeah, but I don't think the shipping lines or the forwarders will be affected with our obligations toward our customers because that is for custom clearance purposes. Once you arrive with your ship, you will unload and customer have fun with your custom clearance and all your onshore. It may have effect on onshore activities where delays could occur. So what you see now is that
In the past, more and more in the US, you could be red flagged upon arrival of a container in a port of import or orange flagged. There are different positions. And then you have to show your papers and proof. And the European Union had this really crazy, created this monster where you had to fill in
all kinds of details, like how many type of electricity you used for producing steel, because we talk about the... Most companies have people dedicated just to working that.
Just to look after that.
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Chapter 4: What challenges did the project cargo sector face regarding tariffs and compliance?
Then, of course, another factor is also the availability of real cars, for example, in the USA. That is still an issue for these heavy duty real cars. I had to speak And that's many, many years ago that we just leased so many cars. I believe it was 60, a pool of 64, multiple projects. And in the middle of the night, we were puzzling everything.
And I'm not necessarily concerned about the cost, Peter, though it is important, but I'm more concerned in the risk, the risk of not having equipment available, the risk of being too late and LDs are being pulled. And that's a huge risk. It's much more costly. It is much more costly. Definitely. So risk and not only from a time wise, but also safety wise, it adds to all the factors. Yeah.
And of course, cost. So I do go from that assumption that although, like say when I'm modeling things, you kind of think, okay, if say general cargo take like i said earlier they take a chunk out of the market and they ease a bit of the um decline for project carriers but it's only going to be the less complicated project cargos Or am I wrong? I mean, do you still see a huge value?
Like you said, it's service driven. So is the value still in that dealing with people who are dedicated project carriers and therefore, or are you happy to take the challenge on yourself or how does it work?
That's an interesting question because if If companies like AAL, for example, they cannot perform on a loading, what else can I do? So I have to go for the alternative. And I have to, however, I have to admit, luckily we do have mechanism and knowledge.
Well, I have my own knowledge, of course, that I know where to look at, where to shop and look at all the risk I'm facing to look at that alternative. There will not be
if we talk about really about the heavy lift there will be not much alternatives as I said also from a technical perspective like hold even hold all these heavy stuff but for example if we look at our duct works and steel still heavy but does not necessarily need a heavy lift ship then we could find easily we could find a solution and work with short cranes and then a whole checklist comes in place like okay a double check triple check like can we do it yes or no
But we do prefer the better class carriers, of course. They get our preference. Unless they come up with prices, they go straight to the roof and then I know who to hire to assist me for the alternatives.
People start getting creative, you know, and that's when all these other carriers, all these other options start coming in. yeah, this is impossible, or the ships aren't there, the ships don't exist, so there isn't an option, so now I have to be creative.
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Chapter 5: Why is attracting young talent crucial for the future of the industry?
Is it really going to be that good?
It was a little bit before that it was better. 2008, it went, everything went straight down the drain.
But you're right, up until 2008, things were swimmingly good. I just remember when we started HLPFI 2007, everybody was making money, like the market was so good.
I mean, we had projects, it really happened. On a Friday morning, they said, we need a price. And that project was sold in the afternoon and we had to do the logistics. And I had to calculate the price within half an hour for a complete project.
for a complete project right so I'm not saying that's happening now but things look good and I'm looking positive to it we are expanding on personnel and yeah I'm really looking forward John something you're excited about
I'm really excited about trying to make shipping a little bit more exciting for the younger generation. We just see some of the young kids coming into AL and they change the whole dynamic. They don't think like anybody else. They don't make decisions like anybody else. They're fearless and they just keep you on your toes because they won't think like we do.
And they've got none of the baggage we have from, you know, having lived through the bad times and good times and everything. And I think that would be really exciting is just getting more young people in. And I'm not saying that the older generation, we don't have value, of course we do.
but it just offers a different dynamic which i think is very very exciting all we need to do as a shipping industry is make it exciting enough that we get the best of the best and i think that's a challenge in of itself but that's also it's it could be great
And as we wrap up, let's talk about our Christmas wish. If you could change something about the industry next year, in 2026, what would it be and why? Peter, what would you change?
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Chapter 6: What partnerships are becoming more important in the project cargo sector?
Thank you so much to everybody who supported PCP in 2025 and for watching our first Christmas edition. And on that note, special thanks to Bluebell Shipping for sponsoring today's event and making this whole thing possible. Bluebell are a Dubai-based project forwarder rapidly expanding in the Middle East, Central Asia, Australia and beyond.
Find out more about them in the description below and get in touch with Addy on LinkedIn. Stay tuned to PCP and we'll see you in 2026.