New enforcement vessels

Trainers: "All trainers are people from the group of Port Authority Officers with prior nautical experience, which means we are now temporarily acting as trainer or coach. We received six months of training from someone who used to work on this kind of vessel in Rotterdam. We began training our team in January, which includes about fifty people. We have therefore been doing this for almost a year."

Trainers: "Our department's mission is: we want a safe port and efficient shipping traffic. This safety is not only in our own interest, but also for those working in the port, and the wider environment. We also take care of supervision and enforcement in the port. There are Port Police Regulations, which apply within the port, and we make sure that these are actually being respected."

"Such checks include bunker inspections (or the fuelling of the ships), checks of certain concessions and checking the correct mooring of ships. However, we are not only there to issue reprimands, we also work hard on building awareness and we can also help out in an emergency."

Trainers: "In the past, we worked only from the shore. But then, you cannot see what happens on the waterside. Is painting work being carried out? Dumping? Is oil floating on the water? Is there diving work? All activities in the port must be authorised by Port of Antwerp-Bruges. Also, conditions must be met in order to guarantee safety. This can all be monitored much better now. In addition, this year we are also active with drones that provide an extra pair of eyes from the sky."

"We also get everywhere much quicker. For example, we are no longer bothered by congestion in the port area. Plus, we are in more direct contact with the people on the ships. That's why Vessel Traffic Services (VTS, responsible for vessel guidance) ask for our help at times. Certainly in the summer when there are yachts passing through the port. They don't always stop to listen and are difficult to reach. Then, VTS sometimes asks us to sail alongside and gather some information."

Trainers: "These vessels must be a kind of floating office. There are two proper work stations above deck, and a third below deck, where we can conduct questioning discretely. We have the same equipment on board as we have in the office. This makes it easy to perform inspections throughout the day, and we can register everything immediately. All information that is available in APICS (Antwerp Port Community Information System), etc. can also be consulted on the ship."

Trainers: "The vessels are hybrid, however, there is a large battery on board, which means they can sail fully electric too. Then there are no emissions at all. That means we have three different modes of transport: fully electric, hybrid or conventional. When we sail conventionally the emissions are cleansed with urea. The ship's batteries are charged with green shorepower."