Work to clean-up the oil that spilled into the River Scheldt at the port of Antwerp last week is now in its 6th day. The River Scheldt will rise on Sunday with the spring tide. It will be then that the full impact of the oil spill on the environment will become clear.
On Wednesday, a spokesperson for the nature conservation association Natuurpunt told the press agency Belga that “We can see that the oil is still drifting towards the Netherlands, for miles. It is only on Monday, after the spring tide, that we will be able to see the true extent of the damage caused by the spill. We naturally hope that it will be as minimal as possible.”
Civil Protection Agency staff and volunteers from the environmental association Natuurpunt are working on the right bank of the River Scheldt today (Wednesday 15 April) removing oil from port infrastructure, ships and nearby riverbanks. It is reported that slightly less clean) up work is required on the river’s left bank. Inland waterway vessels are also being cleaned at the Galgenschoor inland shipping jetty.
At the site of the leak, at the Deurganck Dock, a part of the west side of the dock has become available again to shipping again. This follows the earlier reopening of the east side of the dock. The quay wall of the North Sea Terminal is reported largely available, but the Europa Terminal is not yet operational.
Last week a container ship leaked a significant amount of oil into the River Scheldt during refuelling. The terminal operators MSC and PSA have begun a joint inquiry and the Nautical Commission has opened an investigation at the request of the court in Ghent (East Flanders).
The Port of Antwerp-Bruges is the second-largest port in Europe. It handles 290 million tonnes of cargo per annum.