The Academy: logistics and freight forwarding courses.

Co-hosted with Portilog. Delivered by Gaetan Bascourt of Portilog — twenty years teaching road haulage, seventeen as a forwarder and branch manager at Ziegler, and since 2017 a marine insurance broker specialising in cargo and carrier liability.

The CMR consignment note is the legal backbone of every international road movement — yet most forwarders treat it as a formality. When cargo is lost, damaged or delayed, the CMR is the first document a claims handler, insurer or judge will read. If a field is wrong, a remark is missing, or a signature is misused, you lose time, money and legal protection.

This focused half-day webinar puts the CMR back where it belongs: as a commercial and legal instrument you control. Whether you draft the document, check it, or manage the claim when something goes wrong, you will leave able to use the CMR — and the eCMR — with confidence.

Who this is for?

Freight forwarders, customer service, operations and planning staff who create, validate or rely on international road transport documents. No prior legal training required. Managers booking places for their team are welcome to reserve multiple seats.

What you will learn?

The CMR Convention (1956): the legal basis, and why it governs your international road movements The consignment note in practice: the fields that must be right — and what goes wrong when they are not

• Rights and obligations of the three parties: sender, carrier and consignee
• Carrier liability: from takeover to delivery, the liability limits, and the defences a carrier can rely on
• Reservations and remarks: writing factual, legally defensible notes at pickup and delivery
• Claims and evidence: building a defensible file — photos, timestamps, notification deadlines
• eCMR: how the digital consignment note changes execution, signatures, visibility and invoicing speed
• CMR vs Incoterms: the interface where forwarders quietly lose money on the road leg

Everyone in this industry knows what a container is — far fewer can explain where the box quietly costs them margin, or hands them more of it.

A transhipment nobody counted. A VGM lodged late. A consolidation your desk could be selling and isn't. A bill of lading released a little too early, which is where forwarder liability actually comes from.

This is not a course about learning container shipping. It is about the parts most people were never formally taught. Three focused mornings — take the full series, or the single session you need.

Start with Session 2 if you only take one

Consolidation is the least-taught discipline in freight forwarding. Most people in ocean freight can quote an FCL in their sleep and have never had groupage explained properly. Session 2 stands on its own and is not beginner content — experienced FCL staff who have never worked groupage are exactly the right audience.

Session 1 — The Container System

Tuesday 27 October · 09:00–11:30 CET

• Standard sizes and special equipment — what a 20ft really holds in practice, plus reefers, flat racks and liner bags
• Tare, payload and max gross — and why the road weight limit bites first
• Reading a box: ISO 6346, the check digit, the size/type code, the CSC plate
• Vessels, canals, hubs and the 2026 alliance map
• Why transhipment never changes the origin of your goods
• SOLAS and VGM, and where carrier visibility lets you down

Session 2 — Consolidation & the Economics of the Box

Tuesday 3 November · 09:00–11:30 CET

• FCL, LCL and the CFS, and the break-even that is not just about price
• Head load and tail load — how a consolidation is really built, and the two ways it is unwound
• Buyer's consolidation, the milk run, co-loading and groupage risk
• How LCL is charged — weight or measurement, and where the groupage margin sits
• The forwarder as NVOCC, and the liability gap your house bill opens
• Your agent is your liability: vetting, financial standing, insurance
• Demurrage, detention and quay rent as three separate clocks

Session 3 — The Container Contract

Tuesday 10 November · 09:00–11:30 CET

• Incoterms 2020 — why FOB, CFR and CIF are the wrong rules, used daily anyway
• How a remark at the gate becomes a claused Bill of Lading
• The Bill of Lading: functions, negotiability, package limitation, letters of indemnity
• Said to contain — what the carrier is and is not promising
• Which document you need: house, ocean, sea waybill or electronic
• The three release gates, and misdelivery

Your trainers

Johan Proost, founder of Proost & Partners — 30+ years in shipping, charterparties and cargo law.

Geert De Wilde, founder of Loxygen — 30+ years in freight forwarding and port data. Co-delivers Sessions 1 and 2.

Practical

Small groups, so you can ask questions throughout. Open to CrossTrades, SeaBlue Project Logistics Network, Flyte and NXT-Global members, and to non-members.

Booking three or more from one company? Contact geert@loxygen.world for the team rate.

This comprehensive foundation course for freight forwarders handling breakbulk cargo is part of our freight forwarders training program. In just one intensive online webinar, you will cover essential topics including cargo types, stowage, documentation, pricing, and risk management. 2 x 3,5 hours training online English

Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) are becoming a critical component of the energy transition across Western Europe and North Africa. From residential and EV-related systems to containerised industrial storage, BESS cargo requires advanced expertise in dangerous goods regulation, storage, transport, and circularity. For freight forwarders, mastering BESS logistics is not just about compliance, it is a gateway to new, high-value markets.

What you will learn

• Maritime inbound residential and industrial battery flows in the EU
• Safe and compliant warehousing & storage
• Cross-border transport within the EU and beyond
• Dangerous Goods (DG) requirements in daily operations
• Battery logistics across Western Europe & North Africa
• North Africa as an emerging hub for energy & mobility supply chains
• Circularity & lifecycle logistics * Home Batteries * Datacenters * Maintenance, replacement & reverse flows

Why this matters for your business

Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) Logistics sits at the intersection of:

• Energy transition
• Electrification and mobility
• Datacenters and digital infrastructure
• Circular economy and recycling

Forwarders who invest in training and insights can turn regulatory complexity into a competitive advantage, positioning themselves as trusted partners in one of the fastest-growing logistics markets.

📘 International Trade and Transport English online e-learning

International trade and transport is more than moving goods from A to B: it's a complex interplay of economic drivers, legal frameworks and global supply chains. A thorough grasp of the basics is what separates confident professionals from those who get lost in the terminology.

This e-learning builds a solid foundation in international transport and complex trade flows — at your own pace, without classroom commitments.

What will you gain?

In-depth insight into the historical, economic and legal aspects of international trade and their impact on prosperity and society An overview of international freight transport, with a focus on maritime transport, supply chain stakeholders and relevant legislation Understanding of the principles and regulations surrounding trade and transport law, including the role of international organisations Programme

Chapter 1 — Historical context and economic drivers of international trade

Trade principles through the ages (from protectionism to free trade) Impact of expanding trade on the prosperity of countries and their populations Complex macro- and micro-financial and legal aspects Origins and functioning of international organisations regulating trade Contemporary economic and political challenges and opportunities

Chapter 2 — The logical next phase after a trade transaction

International transportation of goods, with a focus on maritime transport and related transport modes Development of maritime goods transport to its current state, with insights into diverse goods flows, the global fleet and ship types Transport agreements and principles of transport law Overview of the various parties in the supply chain involved in moving goods from origin to final destination (including loading and unloading operations in ports, storage, and further transport over inland waterways and land) Current legislation and regulation of international transport activities

Boots on the ground! Meet our agents, port authorities, and industrial exporters to build strategic connections in European ports. Visit new energy hubs, European Main Ports, inland terminals, EDC's, and warehouses for real-world insights into logistics immersion. Build your network with next generation freight forwarders from the network. Return home fully inspired and learn how to sell to international corporations.

Advanced breakbulk training for experienced freight professionals, including freight forwarders training through online webinars. Deep-dive into complex cargo, charterparties, heavy-lift operations, and commercial negotiations. Full programme on request.