The bulk deployment was failing for a specific key
When we set pageSize=1, the deployment succeeded, however one specific key failed (NOTE associated with over 900 applications)
Portal 5.2
Known issue reported in defect DE599969 related to NULL value for application custom field portal.CUSTOM_FIELD_VALUE
SELECT * FROM portal.CUSTOM_FIELD_VALUE WHERE ENTITY_UUID = '<applicationUuid>';
*************************** 1. row ***************************
UUID: <uuid>
CUSTOM_FIELD_UUID: <uuid>
ENTITY_UUID: <uuid>
VALUE: NULL
Upgrade portal to 5.3.3.1