Baltic Academy held its latest set of in-person courses in London as it welcomed more than 20 members of the shipping industry across four excellent days of direct and interactive learning, which focused on freight derivatives, shipping management and advanced freight modelling and trading.

Hosted at the Novotel London Tower Bridge Hotel just off the River Thames, key members of the maritime industry had the opportunity to learn directly from Amir Alizadeh and Nikos Nomikos, Baltic Academy’s astute leaders from Bayes Business School. Representatives from AET, Galley Gulf Chartering, Glencore, Maersk Tankers, Navision Group, Orlen Trading, RWE Supply & Trading all came together in London.

This year's courses included a deep-dive into using Forward Freight Agreements (FFAs) in helping to manage ongoing shipping risks, which were widely discussed amid ongoing issues in the Middle East Gulf.

"The freight markets have traditionally been very sensitive to changing geopolitical dynamics. The events taking place in the Middle East are no exception to that, with major impacts to the FFA markets. FFAs can be an effective way of building forward positions and taking advantage of changing market dynamics," said Nikos. 

"More than ever, FFAs are an integral part of shipping markets. At Baltic Academy, we are making sure to teach our participants everything about the FFA market, the mechanics of the FFA market and how to use them effectively for the purpose of managing risk in modern shipping," he added.

The courses in London are the first of several taking place this year. If you are interested in finding out more about Baltic Academy and where you can join us for our next in-person courses, click here to access everything you need to know about Baltic Academy.

Our next in-person courses are taking place in Singapore from 22-25 June. Find out how to sign up for those courses here. Baltic Academy will also be in Houston and returning to London later this year so there are still plenty of opportunities to join us at one of our in-person courses in 2026.