As of 30 March 2013 there is a new waste collection facility for barges in the port of Antwerp, said in the press release. The Lillo Park Service Quay located at quay 601 (Tijsmans Tunnel West) is the second waste collection facility to be opened on the right bank of the Scheldt, after the Noordkasteel Park at quay 75. Together with the Kallo Park (at quay 1103 on the left bank) and the bilge boat, these facilities collect some 5000 tonnes of barge waste each year.

Mid-November 2012 saw Hilde Crevits, the Flemish Minister of Transport & Public Works, officially launch the next stage of the Deuganckdocklock project at the Port of Antwerp in Belgium. The Deurganckdocklock will be the second lock between Waasland, the port area on the left bank of the River Scheldt, and the Waasland Canal link to the North Sea. The Deurganckdocklock will be the largest lock in the world, with a length of 500m, a width of 68m and a depth (relative to the local datum point) of 17.8m. It is deeper than, but based on the design of, the Port of Antwerp's Berendrecht lock.

JOC reports, Mediterranean Shipping Co. said it is reconsidering its operations at the Port of Antwerp as a pilot strike paralyzes shipping at Europe’s third-largest container hub for the fourth straight day. The world’s second largest ocean carrier, which accounts for over two-thirds of Antwerp’s container traffic, has begun diverting some calls from its main European hub to the neighboring port of Rotterdam. The strike, over government plans to raise the national retirement age from 63 to 65, is preventing more than 70 ships, including over 20 MSC container vessels, from entering or leaving the port. “The damage that the action of the pilots has caused us is making us rethink our position in Antwerp,” MSC said. “MSC does not understand this action by the pilots ... and will reconsider its investment policy towards [the region of] Flanders.” More at www.joc.com/ports...

The port of Antwerp faces a shutdown Monday as Belgian dockers participate in a nationwide 24-hour general strike against a government austerity program that will halt rail freight traffic and close Brussels Airport, JOC reports. Pilots, tug boat crews and lock operators at Antwerp, Europe’s third largest container port, will join the strike, which will also shut the ports of Zeebrugge and Ghent. Dockers plan to set up blockades on access roads to the ports to prevent trucks loading or unloading containers at cargo terminals. Stevedores expect terminals to be closed from 6 a.m. [local time] Monday to 6 a.m. Tuesday. www.joc.com/ports...

The port of Antwerp expects to have handled 186.4 million tonnes of freight this year. This represents an increase of 4.6% compared with 2010, when the volume was 178.2 million tonnes. Furthermore, all-time records have been set this year for containers and liquid bulk, with expected volumes of 104,779,157 and 46,095,431 tonnes respectively, the Port Authority said Thursday. Antwerp’s container volume was up by 2.2% in 2011, to 104,779,157 tonnes. Expressed in standard containers (twenty-foot equivalent units) the figure was correspondingly higher, up 2% to 8,638,311 TEU. This demonstrates that in comparison with other ports in the Hamburg-Le Havre range relatively few empty containers are respositioned in Antwerp.

The port authorities of Antwerp and Rotterdam are going to work together to reinforce the pipeline infrastructure between the two ports. On Friday, they set this down in a declaration of intent, signed by the respective port directors, Eddy Bruyninckx and Hans Smits. The costs of an initial study into the route and a cost estimate will be borne jointly, Tankterminals reports. More at en.portnews.ru/ne...

The port of Antwerp is to raise its port dues by 2% in 2012, the Port Authority press release said. This is the first time in three years that the port has adjusted its dues to keep pace with inflation, and then only to a modest degree. The decision was made by the Port Authority’s Board of Directors on Tuesday evening. The dues were not raised in 2010 and 2011; on the contrary, they were selectively lowered in response to the sharp drop in the freight volume. Now a moderate dues policy will enable the Port Authority to invest further in among other things efficient, sustainable development of port infrastructure.

The port of Antwerp received a highly commendable accolade on Monday night when it was awarded Port of the Year by the organisation ICSW (International Committee of Seafarers’ Welfare), the organisation of seamen throughout the world. It seems the Antwerp harbour, and more particularly the Port Authority, is an excellent host. More to read at www.mediargus.be/...

In the Port of Antwerp the Flemish Minister for Mobility and Public Works, Hilde Crevits, European Investment Bank (EIB) President Philippe Maystadt and Chairman of the Antwerp Port Authority’s Board of Directors and Alderman for the Port Marc Van Peel gave the official starting signal on 21 November 2011 for the construction of the second lock on the Left Bank, the Port Authority press release said. Over the coming years the new construction project will be one of the biggest infrastructure projects in Flanders, with 255 people working daily on building the biggest lock in the world. The lock is due to open in 2016 and will cost around EUR 340 million of which 50% will be financed by the EIB. For Ms Crevits, the construction of the new lock is necessary to improve maritime access to the economic hub of the Port of Antwerp. For EIB President Mr Maystadt, the new lock will help to further develop efficient, multimodal and sustainable goods transport, which will benefit not only the Port of Antwerp and Flanders but also Europe. More at en.portnews.ru/ne...

During the first nine months of this year the Port of Antwerp handled a total of 142 million tonnes of freight (142,074,576 tonnes). This represents an increase of 7.5 percent compared with the first nine months of 2010, when the volume came to 132 million tonnes. The first half of the year proved to be fairly strong, but this was followed by a slowdown in growth during the third quarter. Container volumes were up by 2.7 percent in comparison with the period January-September 2010, from 77.1 to 79.2 million tonnes. The volume amounted to 6.5 million TEU, representing an increase of 3.1 percent.