TOC Americas 2026 Debates Trade, Connectivity and Disruptions in Cartagena

TOC Americas 2026 kicked off on Tuesday, October 20, at the Las Américas Convention Center in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia, under the theme "Trade, Conflict and (Dis)connectivity… Where Is the Growth?". The welcome address was given by Captain Alfonso Salas, General Manager of Grupo Puerto de Cartagena, who spoke about the challenges facing international trade amid geopolitical conflicts and the need to sustain investments in infrastructure, technology and training. The event, which ran through October 22, brought together port authorities, shipowners, terminal operators and technology providers from across the region.

The first day of the CSC Live conferences was devoted to trade and opened with the Grupo Puerto de Cartagena panel, where Giovanni Benedetti and Karina Kure addressed the paradox of having more technology and infrastructure while still facing reliability issues. The panel on containerized maritime trade outlook featured Dinesh Sharma of Drewry, Henry Ziemer of CSIS, Natalia Gil of GPC, Enrique Piqueras of PSA Panamá and Nicolas Romero of PIL. In the afternoon, during the panel on trade among the Americas, Maximiliano Alcorta, regional manager at MSC, argued that Peru and Colombia have gained an edge over Chile in port policy, highlighting the need for predictability and for assessing the economic sustainability of new port investments before expanding terminal capacity.

The second day focused on growth and sustainability. In the panel on maritime trade networks, moderated by Paul Gallie, Paulo Ruy of Hanseatic Global Terminals argued that evaluating a port must include its inland access routes and logistics connections, while Tom van Eynde of TiL Group stressed the importance of rail transport and warned that without sufficient equipment, infrastructure alone does not guarantee results. Jorge Chávez, of Peru's National Port Authority, noted that investment opportunities lie in logistics integration and acknowledged that the growth of Peruvian terminals was not matched by equivalent progress in inland connectivity, particularly at Callao. The renewal of port concessions and the need for clear rules to provide certainty to operators were also discussed.

In sustainability-focused panels, representatives from BIMCO, dynaCERT, ONE, the World Bank and Grupo Puerto de Cartagena agreed that economic viability is a necessary condition for advancing decarbonization, with Dominik Englert of the World Bank recommending starting on a small scale. Juan Carlos Acosta, of Contecar, noted that around 15% of Grupo Puerto de Cartagena's energy comes from photovoltaic systems. Meanwhile, Juan Marcos Mancilla, of Puerto Valparaíso, stated that the Chilean port must become a Smart Port, advancing in digitalization, automation and electrification ahead of its upcoming concession, while in the panel on supply chain management, executives from AliExpress, Hapag-Lloyd, GEODIS, Grupo CargOK, Falabella and Dollarcity stressed that, despite the advance of artificial intelligence, strategic decisions remain the responsibility of humans.

The final day of CSC Live was dedicated to the Greater Caribbean, where Curtis Dennie, a CARICOM specialist, warned that freight rates in the region are nearly four times the global average and that around 90% of imports arrive by sea. Cristobal Schlaubitz, of Tristar, described the growth driven by Guyana's oil boom, while Federica Noli, of Puerto Bahía, noted that container volumes along Colombia's Caribbean coast are projected to grow by 17% in 2026, though she warned about congestion at Cartagena's inland access routes. The event combined its technical program with networking activities, including visits to Grupo Puerto de Cartagena's terminals, a networking party at Port Oasis Eco-Park, and a TOC Golf tournament, whose winner received a free stand for TOC Americas 2027, to be held in Panama.