Ro/ro stands for “roll-on/roll-off,” i.e. vehicles that are able to drive on and off a cargo ship under their own or other power. Antwerp is the third-largest ro/ro port in Europe, with extensive terminals where among other things new and second hand cars are loaded and unloaded. The total ro/ro volume (including containers) amounted to 8.1 million tonnes in 2007. Excluding containers, 4.44 million tonnes of ro/ro freight was loaded and unloaded in Antwerp in 2007. During the past year 315,000 cars were imported and 625,000 exported. Most ro/ro ships in the port of Antwerp are handled on the left bank of the Scheldt, in the Verrebroek and Vrasene docks.

Antwerp is the market leader for exports of second hand cars, and is also an important player for exporting trucks, thus reinforcing its position as a ro/ro hub. The port also acts as a shortsea hub for cars imported from all of Europe.

Apart from cars, Antwerp also handles machinery, heavy equipment, project cargo and other rolling stock. Thanks to its constant investments in infrastructure and equipment the port is able to meet all the demands of ro/ro customers.

However, Antwerp offers more than just loading and unloading ro/ro freight: it also has pre-delivery inspection (PDI) centres where the cars are fully readied for delivery to e.g. dealers and rental companies.