The Coastlink conference will return on the 13-14 May 2020

Fareham, UK - The Coastlink Conference is a neutral pan-European network dedicated to the promotion of short sea and feeder shipping and, the intermodal transport networks that support the sector.

The conference will return in 2020, in partnership with the Port of Antwerp. The theme for the 2020 event will focus on ‘Building Connectivity between Short Sea Shipping & Intermodal Networks’ - taking the next step forward from the 2019 event which looked at the future of short sea shipping.

The Port of Antwerp is Europe’s second-largest seaport, annually handling around 235 million tonnes of international maritime freight, and home to Europe’s largest integrated (petro)chemical cluster. With the volume of freight loaded/unloaded doubling over the past 20 years the port serves more than 870 destinations worldwide with around 300 weekly departures.

The conference will be held on Wednesday 13 and Thursday 14 May 2020 in the Auditorium at The Port House, Antwerp. The conference will deliver 1. 5 days of conference sessions including informative presentations and panel discussions designed to encourage open discussion and audience participation. This will be followed by a technical visit of the Port of Antwerp, giving delegates the opportunity to see the working dynamics of this international port.

2020 topics include ‘Market Sector Overview – Industry Challenges and New Opportunities for Short Sea & Feeder Shipping’, ‘Building Connectivity & Networks for the future - linking Short Sea & Feeder Shipping to Intermodal transport routes’ and ‘Looking to the future – Improving efficiencies through Digitalisation and Innovation’.

Marianne Rasmussen-Coulling, Events Director, Mercator Media organiser of Coastlink commented “Following the acquisition and relaunch of Coastlink in June 2019, there has been an appetite from stakeholders for the event to go across the continent. We are pleased to be working with The Port of Antwerp for Coastlink 2020 and look forward to the crucial insight and knowledge that such a busy and influential port as this will be able to bring to discussions.”

Coastlink provides a great opportunity to meet and network with international attendees representing logistics companies, terminal operators, shipping lines, ports and freight organisations.