Maritime traffic to and from Antwerp will be halted from 19:30 local time on Monday, 13 October, until 07:30 on Wednesday, 15 October, due to reduced staffing at the Zandvliet Traffic Control Centre during Belgium’s national strike on Tuesday, Port of Antwerp-Bruges said in a statement.
The Joint Nautical Authority ordered a stoppage in the Zandvliet sector of the Scheldt to allow vessel movements to wind down safely before the closure.
The shutdown follows ongoing industrial action by Flemish harbour pilots, who since 5 October have been working strictly within daytime hours (08:00–17:00).
The Port of Antwerp-Bruges said last week that the limitation was already causing “a significant number of vessels [to be] delayed on both inbound and outbound traffic,” and on Monday morning (07:00) it reported 93 vessels in Antwerp without a known schedule and 19 with delays.
Separately, the Agency for Maritime and Coastal Services (MDK) has reported 129 ships currently waiting for pilotage across Flemish ports.
Maersk informed clients that the pilots’ work-to-rule “will operate strictly during established office hours, from 08:00 to 17:00… [with] severe delays to vessel arrivals and departures in the coming days.”
A related 24–48-hour strike by lashers in nearby Rotterdam has also limited diversion options within the North Sea hub network.
The Port of Antwerp-Bruges is a unified port authority established in 2022 through the merger of the ports of Antwerp and Zeebrugge. It operates as an autonomous public entity under Belgian law, jointly governed by the cities of Antwerp and Bruges.
