Why AI Will Not Replace Project Logistics

Artificial intelligence will not replace project cargo logistics. The people who work closest to the technology are the clearest about why.

Ilse Rodewijk, CEO of AlbatrosDigital, works with data, machine learning and AI daily.

"We thought for a second that data would just answer any question," she said. "This is not true. You always need the context of data. Those tools are very effective to optimize planning, but the human contact and the context of reality is very far from being fully automated."

The concern driving the question is legitimate. Cargo is becoming more standardized in some segments. Automation is reducing headcount in ports and terminals. Will there be enough work for the next generation?

The answer from eight Heavy Lift Group women who have spent between 15 and 40 years in the industry is yes. But not because the disruption is overstated. Because the nature of project cargo makes it resistant to automation in ways that container shipping is not.

Sanjna Vardhan, assistant vice president at Procam Group, made the point that logistics has not slowed through any disruption the industry has faced, including the years when global supply chains were under maximum pressure.

"Till we all exist, logistics will not stop," she said. "The difficult part of doing business is never the business. It is always people. Working with people, making people accept you, accepting ideologies, working with different ways of working. AI may resolve some of it, but it cannot replace the way we do logistics because it still needs a human touch."

Elisabeth Cosmatos, CEO of The Cosmatos Group, brought it down to the ground level where project cargo actually gets moved.

"Transport is a hands-on job," she said. "Somebody executes it on the ground. Because project cargo is difficult to move, you very frequently ask people to go the extra mile for you. AI will never persuade the guy on the ground to go the extra mile. He has to do it for you, for what you both did together, for the trust that came together and decided on a solution. You need to share a dream with somebody who is doing it for you."

Moving a 253-ton piece of equipment through a port, across roads that were not designed for it, onto a vessel that has to be specially rigged, requires people who trust each other and are willing to solve problems that have never come up in quite that form before. No algorithm closes that gap.

What AI pwill do is make the work more efficient. It will shorten the learning curve for new entrants and help with planning, data analysis and decision support. For a generation coming into the industry now, those tools will be available from day one in ways they were not for the women who have been doing this work for decades.

"You will have agents to help you more than we did," Vardhan said. "But I think you are also smarter. You are just fast."

Automation creating new opportunity alongside displacement is not a new pattern. Vardhan pointed to manufacturing plants in India where robots replaced manual workers on safety grounds, and the workers who had been on the floor moved into programming and managing the robots, often in multiple languages.

"Every challenge creates an opportunity," she said. "That is how we should see the world."

About This Series

This article was developed from a workshop hosted by the Women in Breakbulk Lounge during Breakbulk Europe.

Title: Next Generation Project Cargo: Mentorship and Future Readiness Date: Tuesday, June 16, 2026 Location: Women in Breakbulk Lounge, Breakbulk Europe, Rotterdam Ahoy Panelists: Beatriz Alvarado, Sales and Chartering Director, Kaleido Ideas and Logistics / Elisabeth Cosmatos, CEO, The Cosmatos Group / Ilse Rodewijk, CEO, AlbatrosDigital / Iris Müllejans, Managing Director, Rolf Riedl GmbH / Marianne Blechingberg, Managing Director, Oy Hacklin Logistics Ltd / Miriam Nagel, Business Development Manager, DEUFOL DÖHLE PROJECTS GMBH / Rosy Malave, Founder and Commercial Director, Nakama Worldwide Solutions / Sanjna Vardhan, Assistant Vice President, Procam Group Association: The Heavy Lift Group (THLG) Session URL: https://europe.breakbulk.com/agendas/event-agenda/next-generation-project-cargo-mentorship-and

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