The port of Antwerp-Bruges is losing containers to other European ports due to lack of space. A new dock is planned by 2033, but management expects the coming years to be challenging.
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Port of Antwerp-Bruges loses market share due to lack of space
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In the first half of the year, the port had a market share of 29.8% in container handling. In the same period last year, its share was 30.5%. It remains the second largest port in Europe after Rotterdam, which has also seen its market share fall, from 31.1% to 30.2% in the same period.
The decline is mainly to the benefit of German ports: Hamburg’s share has grown from 17.5% to 18%, Bremen from 10% to 10.5% and Wilhelmshaven from 1.9% to 2.8%.
“We expected this,” says Johan Klaps, the Antwerp city councillor responsible for the port. “We have been dealing with a lot of activity in the port.
“This was due to changes in cooperation between several shipping companies, which resulted in some routes being rerouted. In August, the supply of containers decreased somewhat in order to relieve that pressure. But it is logical that some market share was lost as a result.”
More space is urgently needed, and a new dock is planned for the Linkeroever. “That process is under way,” says Klaps. “We hope to be able to open it in 2033. So that will take another eight years. The coming years will therefore remain difficult.”
This project is called ECA, Extra Container Capacity Antwerp, and is a joint initiative by the Flemish government, Antwerp Port Authority and the Maatschappij Linkerscheldeoever.
“It’s not that fewer containers are coming to Antwerp,” says Klaps. “The total market is simply growing. We can’t handle that extra part for the time being. The extra dock should already have been there. That’s the harsh reality. So we prefer to look ahead to the market share we will be able to regain once the dock is there.”
We prefer to look ahead to the market share we will be able to regain once the dock is there
Entrepreneur Fernand Huts’ port company, Katoennatie, has offered to create extra space for containers at the Bevrijdingsdok, where there is room for 7 million extra containers. The port currently has space for 15 million.
“Any help is welcome, but the Bevrijdingsdok is behind the locks,” says Klaps. “That’s a barrier for large container ships. Transfers through the locks cost more time and money because pilots and tugs are needed all the time.”
While the Bevrijdingsdok offers a short-term solution, it is unsuitable for the long term, he says. The planned new dock on the Linkeroever will be accessible without locks.
