Breakbulk 101.

Jerry Nagel, president and chief executive of Rickmers-Linie (America), has been working hard to diversify the "bald and gray heads" of breakbulk shipping through an infusion of youth from members of Generations X and Y.

One characteristic of younger workers is that unlike many of the older generation, they're comfortable with Internet training. That's why Nagel is excited about a new e-learning program being developed by the Breakbulk Institute, a joint project of The Journal of Commerce Breakbulk Conference and Teledata Marine Solutions Ltd.

Nagel chairs the steering committee for the online learning program, which he sees as an efficient, flexible way to …