Navigating a fracturing world: risk mitigation takes centre stage at Shipping UK

At Shipping UK on 6 October, three practitioners who deal with many of the threats faced daily across the maritime sector, will discuss how the industry navigates them.

The Risk Mitigation Masterclass brings together Neil Roberts, head of marine and aviation at the Lloyd’s Market Association; Charlotte Kleberg, board and advisory at Soya Group and adjunct fellow in maritime logistics at the Council on Geostrategy; and John Stawpert, principal director marine at the International Chamber of Shipping. Panellists will discuss navigating regional tensions and political fallout, including sanctions.

From the insurance market, expect a candid account of what underwriters can, and cannot, do: the central role of risk assessment and due diligence; the challenge of managing divergence between legislators as national sanctions policies pull in different directions; and why the market’s ability to keep cover in place is so widely misunderstood. The panel will also confront the definitional problems around cyber and AI that make these risks so difficult to insure and to regulate.

From the strategic side, the discussion will turn to resilient logistics and civil–military integration: what commercial shipping is already prepared to offer for national resilience; why ‘sea blindness’ persists not only among the public but within governments; and the compelling economics of using willing merchant capacity alongside, rather than instead of, naval platforms. Running through it all is the human element: the multinational crews on whom world trade silently depends, and what today’s threat environment means for recruiting the seafarers of tomorrow.

Questions will flow live from the floor throughout, and the session’s conclusions will be reported back to the full conference in plenary.

Shipping UK takes place on 6 October 2026 at the QEII Centre, Westminster, hosted by the UK Chamber of Shipping in partnership with Riviera Maritime Media. This must-attend event will bring together global industry leaders, key stakeholders, UK and international policymakers and sector experts in the heart of Westminster for a day of insight and debate on the industry’s future. Tickets are available via the following link.