Crisis update: disruption due to national strike day

The Zandvliet operating area has been back in operation since 07:30 this morning.

There are currently 92 ships waiting:

• In Antwerp, 59 ships are waiting to sail out of the port
• On the North Sea, 33 vessels are waiting to enter Antwerp

The nautical chain was ramped up during the night. Inbound, meanwhile, 6 ocean-going vessels sailed on the Scheldt towards Antwerp. All locks were filled in preparation to start the outbound traffic from the end of the imposed blockage. Shipping traffic meanwhile got underway. Vessels from the tidal terminals can depart according to the optimised schedule. Maximum available lock capacity is offered to inland navigation.

Elimination of all accumulated delays is expected to continue until Friday.

Disruption to shipping in Antwerp continues to increase. There are currently 87 ships waiting: 

• In Antwerp, 48 ships are waiting to leave the port
• On the North Sea, 39 ships are waiting, all heading for Antwerp.

Port Authority lock personnel and tug services are working at full capacity overnight. Shipping traffic to and from Antwerp will be started up in phases tomorrow so that chain capacity is not overloaded. Lock capacity will also be provided for inland navigation to start up simultaneously with seagoing traffic.

The Port Authority will systematically release locks as from 10 p.m. this evening. Only tomorrow will we effectively carry out the locks, in order to respect the imposed shipping stoppage on the Scheldt. This will last until tomorrow, 30 April, at 07:30.

Please respect the current procedures regarding registration and booking of the locks for inland navigation.

Disruption caused by strike action continues to mount. Currently there are 74 ships waiting. In Antwerp, 38 vessels are waiting to leave the port. On the North Sea, 36 vessels are waiting, all heading for Antwerp.

The disruption will continue until tomorrow morning.  Afterwards, we will start working to clear the backlog smoothly and safely. This is expected to take one to two days.

Disruption caused by strike action continues to mount. The Antwerp port area remains completely blocked. Meanwhile, 25 vessels are waiting to depart from Antwerp; 31 are waiting to enter the port.

The Port Authority's operational services are quasi-full. The locks are fully manned, the tug services are working at 90% occupancy. Traffic control within the docks and inland navigation services at the Oosterweel works remain active.

The disruption will continue until tomorrow morning.  Afterwards, we will start working to clear the backlog smoothly and safely. This is expected to take one to two days.

Due to industrial action, there is currently very strong disruption to shipping to and from Antwerp. The up- and downstream is completely blocked for both sea and inland navigation. There are currently 16 seagoing vessels waiting. In Antwerp, 4 sea-going vessels are waiting to leave the port; on the North Sea, 12 sea-going vessels are waiting, all heading for Antwerp.

The Port Authority's tug service is 100% operational, as are all locks. Because of the action at Traffic Control Center Zandvliet and the forced stoppage that followed, no ships can enter or leave the port area. In other words, there is no nautical activity, with the exception of the bringing in of the last barges from the Scheldt to the docks and some shedding on both banks.

Due to industrial action at the Traffic Control Center Zandvliet (MDK), shipping traffic to and from Antwerp will be blocked from tonight at 19h30 until Wednesday at 07h30. This afternoon at 13h, the GNA started to align the embarking vessels to Antwerp with the planned stoppage in order to gradually halt shipping traffic by 19h30 this evening. The sailing permits will also be aligned to this union action.

To respect the imposed stoppage, shipping - both sea and inland - cannot pass the locks towards the Scheldt during this time period.

In the coming hours, we will have more insight into the impact of the strike on our own services such as bridges, locks and towing.