Christian Ehrlich will speak on maritime security at the Schuman Forum in Brussels

The European External Action Service (EEAS), the European Union’s diplomatic service, runs the Schuman Security and Defence Forum with support from the European Commission. The 2026 edition is the third, after 2023 and 2024, and takes place in Brussels on November 17 and 18. According to the EEAS, it brings together senior decision-makers from more than 85 partner countries and EU member states, along with international organizations, think tanks and academia. Ahead of it, the EEAS held preparatory “Road to Schuman” meetings in several partner countries, Argentina among them.

Christian Ehrlich, partner, Co-CEO and Director of Intelligence at Riskop, has been invited. He will speak on threats and risks to maritime security from a Mexican perspective. Ehrlich holds a master’s degree in Maritime Security from Coventry University in the United Kingdom and leads Riskop’s intelligence practice.

The program published by the EEAS sets aside a November 18 roundtable for maritime security: freedom of navigation, protection of undersea infrastructure and so-called shadow fleets. Seen from Mexico, those topics run through ports and the routes cargo takes.

What it means for a company operating in Mexico

Mexico has cargo ports on both oceans, from Manzanillo and Lázaro Cárdenas on the Pacific to Altamira and Veracruz on the Gulf. For a company that imports inputs or exports through them, the sea leg is part of the same route as the highway leg. A delay or a hold at the port moves delivery dates the same way a highway blockade does. Between the ship and the highway, cargo goes through customs, a bonded facility and a yard, and a different party is responsible at each step.

Three questions for your logistics and security teams to answer:

1. Where does custody of your cargo change hands between the ship, the port, the yard and the truck, and who is responsible at each point?
2. Does your team follow what happens at the ports you ship through as closely as it follows the highways?
3. Do your trucking and customs broker contracts say what happens, and who notifies whom, if cargo is held at the port?

Christian Ehrlich’s background is on the Riskop team page.