Made leads the debate on how AI transforms the role of shipping agents

Antwerp, Belgium - November 28th, 2025

On Thursday, December 4th, Made’s maritime experts, together with the Belgian Shipping Federation (BSV), are organizing an interactive afternoon at business hub 'The Beacon' dedicated to exploring the impact of AI and emerging technologies on shipping agents.

With many years of experience in driving maritime innovation for industry leaders like Lloyd’s Register and CMB.Tech, our own Jeroen Nelen (Director Maritime & Logistics), Nick Heeren (Business Lead Maritime), and Joos Van den Bergh (Innovation Lead Maritime) will moderate an industry brainstorm as shipping agents come together in Antwerp to envision their future role.

Starting at 13h00, the afternoon will kick off with a series of inspirational talks highlighting the latest innovations transforming the world of shipping agents. From automation and digital collaboration to intelligent decision-making.

Afterwards, at around 15h00, Made’s maritime experts will steer the conversation during an open discussion about the daily challenges shipping agents are facing in the current maritime landscape.

“Shipping agents these days are eager to discover how others handle the same obstacles. From managing the email avalanche to coordinating last-minute crew changes when vessels delay. That’s why we'll start by creating a clear picture of today's pain points," explains Joos Van den Bergh. "Whether it's manually updating declaration details across different systems, the scramble to reschedule everything when a ship delays 12 hours, or tracking down invoices from dozens of suppliers; these shared challenges become our roadmap for where AI and technology can make an immediate impact."

This collaborative mapping exercise naturally reveals opportunity. Could natural language processing extract crew details from emails and trigger visa applications automatically? Might predictive algorithms anticipate vessel delays and initiate rebooking procedures proactively? The answers emerge from understanding the real operational bottlenecks shipping agents face daily.

Building on these identified challenges, Made’s maritime experts will share insights on existing AI and technology solutions already deployed in maritime operations. The discussion will navigate which automation opportunities are realistic today versus aspirational.

"We'll explore what's actually achievable," says Nick Heeren. "Can OCR systems reliably digitize bills of lading? Yes, that's operational. Can AI completely automate complex customs declarations across multiple jurisdictions? We'll examine the current limitations. Can invoice matching and routing be largely automated? We'll look at real implementations."

Rather than promising silver bullets, the session will provide honest assessments of where technology can assist immediately, like email categorization and standard response drafting, versus areas requiring more development or human oversight.

Through these discussions, a vision naturally emerges of how the shipping agent's role evolves when augmented by AI assistants and intelligent data systems.

"The conversation will organically lead to reimagining the shipping agent's future role," notes Jeroen Nelen. "When AI handles routine data processing, shipping agents can focus on relationship management, strategic problem-solving, and adding value through expertise rather than manual administration. Participants will leave with a concrete understanding of how their profession transforms in an increasingly digital maritime ecosystem."

Eager to attend the debate? Secure your spot at The Beacon. +50 people are already attending, with some tickets are still available.