The British Ports Association (BPA) has announced the first tranche of speakers for its 2026 Annual Conference, which will take place at the Port of Dover on 21-22 October 2026.
Speakers at BPA 2026 will include a diverse line-up of port operators, government departments, representative bodies and leading supply-chain businesses. A combination of keynote sessions and panel discussions will see chairs inviting questions and contributions from delegates, of which more than 400 are expected to attend the autumn event.
Recognising some of the global challenges facing the UK ports industry, the 2026 conference programme will include key speakers such as Ricardo Batista, the new head of the Climate Action and Clean Air Team at the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) and Chris Chant, the MoD’s deputy director for resilience and home defence. The International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH) will also be represented by its managing director, Patrick Verhoeven, along with Virginia McVea, chief executive of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA).
The 2026 conference, taking place within the Port of Dover’s historic Cruise Terminal One building, also features two Dover heavyweights in chief executive and current BPA chair, Doug Bannister, and previous winner of the BPA’s extraordinary individual award, Emma Ward, who as chief operations officer will spotlight developing extraordinary female leaders of the future. And recognising Dover’s importance as a base for multiple ferry operators, the sector will represented by Stena Line’s Sarah West, managing director for ports in the UK and Ireland.
From the wider UK ports industry will be featured a cross-section of senior leaders; including the new chief executive of PD Ports, Paul Foreman; Tim Morris, head of corporate communications at Associated British Ports and Grace Rawnsley, director of sustainability at the Port of London Authority.
From Forth Ports, group health and safety employee manager, Steve Marchant will be joined by chief harbour master and current president of the UK Harbourmasters’ Association, Alan McPherson; while speakers from the Bristol Port Company include 30-year veteran Nick Venn, who joined the port as one of its original apprentices in 1994, highlighting the important role of apprenticeships within the current UK debate around technical qualifications for young people.
“We are incredibly excited about the quality of our speaker lineup at BPA 2026 as we strive to provide delegates with expert insight on a range of key issues and topics,” commented Richard Ballantyne, chief executive of the British Ports Association. “With just over two months to go before we welcome the industry to Dover, we are in the process of confirming the final few sessions and hope to make an additional programme announcement in the coming weeks.”
Organisations and individuals wishing to attend the 2026 British Ports Association Annual Conference can visit www.bpa2026.com to register. A limited number of partnership opportunities are also still available – interested organisations can view the packages and submit an application by visiting https://www.bpa2026.com/Partnership-Opportunities. For any questions you can email the event management team at Freshwater on BPAconference@freshwater.co.uk