Albert Ballin Awards and Forum 2026

The Albert Ballin Awards 2026 were presented on May 12 during a ceremonial event at Hapag-Lloyd’s headquarters in Hamburg.

The Albert Ballin Prize for Global Action 2026 was awarded to the Colombian foundation Amigos del Mar and its founder and director Pedro Salazar. Through this award, Hapag-Lloyd recognized their outstanding commitment to the protection of marine ecosystems and the promotion of sustainable development.

In addition, three Albert Ballin Awards for Globalization Research, each endowed with EUR 5,000, were presented this year in recognition of the exceptionally high quality of the submitted doctoral theses. The awards were granted to Dr. Clara Baumann, Dr. Marlene Gärtner and Dr. des. Bertille James.

The awards ceremony formed part of the third Albert Ballin Forum Hamburg, an interdisciplinary symposium on “War and Peace at Sea” that brought together representatives from academia, business, politics, and the maritime industry at Kühne Logistics University (KLU) on May 12 and 13.

Named after Albert Ballin, Hapag’s Director General from 1899 to 1918 and one of the key figures of early globalization, the awards honor outstanding achievements in globalization research as well as exceptional contributions to global responsibility and sustainable development.

The forum was organized in cooperation with the German Shipowners’ Association (VDR), Kühne Logistics University, the Foundation of Historical Museums Hamburg, the German Port Museum, and Sigmund Freud Private University Vienna. Discussions focused on current and future challenges related to maritime security, globalization, and international trade.