INTERCARGO brought shipowners, charterers, insurers and service providers together in Athens on March 31 to tackle a growing issue in dry bulk shipping: how ship-to-ship (STS) transfers are actually carried out.STS in dry bulk is no longer occasional. It is becoming part of day-to-day operations as larger vessels and limited port infrastructure force cargo to be moved offshore. However, the sector has reached this point without a clear, shared way of performing STS safely and efficiently.In tanker shipping, STS follows established practices for over twenty years.