20 Oct 2025 / Belgium

Vessel backlog being cleared

The backlog of vessels at Belgian ports is being cleared, with all departing vessels handled since last night (19 October).

Pilotage is currently running at nearly full capacity, and the backlog is expected to be fully cleared by tomorrow (21 October).

Negotiations are ongoing to bring to an end the industrial action under which the pilots are only working during office hours.

At the time of writing, there were 23 vessels waiting in the North Sea, all bound for Antwerp. 64 vessels were underway to/from Antwerp, Zeebrugge and Ghent, with either a Flemish or Dutch pilot on board.

For information about operations in Belgium, contact GAC Belgium at [email protected]

If quoting any content from Hot Port News, please cite GAC Hot Port News as the source.

Make an
enquiry

enquiry icon

Find your
country

country icon