Port history

The first evidence for the existence of the port of Antwerp dates from the 12th century, with Antwerp being mentioned sporadically as a point of embarkment for passengers travelling to England and Zeeland, and as an export port for wine from the Rhine and Mosel regions, destined for England.
The port experienced its first period of prosperity from 1200 to 1350 thanks to the development of the textile industry. The trade in English wool also attracted local commercial activity, with Italian and Dutch merchants coming to Antwerp to purchase English wool for further distribution.
There were three or so mooring places along the Scheldt, along with three docks: the Holenvliet, the Sint-Jansvliet and the Burchtgracht. The shipping quarter stretched along the bank of the Scheldt.
The great storm floods in the late 14th and early 15th century scoured and deepened the Scheldt estuary, enabling large, seagoing ships to reach the port directly.
In 1450 came the first expansion to the North, when the Sint-Pietersvliet dock was put into use.
The 16th century has gone down in history as Antwerp’s Golden Age. There was a flourishing trade in local craft products and in goods produced in the South Netherlands provinces, which were exported to among others France, the Iberian peninsula and the West Coast of Morocco.
The port expanded further, and in 1550 it had ten wharves spread over a distance of 2 km along the Scheldt, along with eight docks: Holenvliet, Sint-Jansvliet, Burchtgracht, Sint-Pietersvliet, Haringvliet, Boterrui, Brouwersvliet, Graanvliet and Timmervliet. (The “vliet” in the names – “fleet” in English – refers to the mouth of a stream where it joins the river; a “gracht” is a moat, and a “rui” is a defensive ditch: all natural mooring places connected to the river.)

In 1558 Antwerp fell into Spanish hands, and the Low Countries were separated into South Netherland (now Belgium) and North Netherland (now The Netherlands). The Dutch decided to blockade the Scheldt, and for the next two centuries this former high seas port and leading commercial and financial centre dwindled to a mere river port. But this did not prevent Antwerp from developing new outlets, along the canals connecting Ghent to Brugge and Ostend.
More and more ships from England, Scotland and France chose this route to reach Antwerp.

The rise of a world-class port
1811: Construction of the Bonaparte dock.
1813: Construction of the Willem dock and the Bonaparte lock.
Between 1816 and 1829 the port experienced average annual growth of 4.5% and in 1829 it handled 129,000 tonnes of freight. Intercontinental trade in particular (with Africa, America and Asia) experienced a boom: when it came to serving these regions, Antwerp played a greater role than Rotterdam and Amsterdam combined. The transit trade serving the German hinterland also expanded considerably.
French, American and especially German trading firms opened branches in large numbers in Antwerp, responding to the huge opportunities offered by the port as a trading hub for western Europe.
1835: Construction of the first railway line in Belgium, between Mechelen and Brussels, eventually leading to the “Iron Rhine” which in 1843 connected Antwerp to Cologne; this was the first cross-border rail connection with the German hinterland.
1856: Construction of the Katendijk dock.
1864: Inauguration of the Hout dock.
1869: Expansion of the Kattendijk and Hout docks.
1870: Connection between the Kattendijk dock and the Willem dock; construction of the Kempisch, Asia and Mexico docks.
Between 1850 and 1870 Antwerp’s export volume grew by a factor of six, while all import and transit records were broken. Antwerp developed from a gateway for overseas goods to a hub for an intense exchange of goods between western Europe and the rest of the world.
In the period between 1880 and 1890 the port was given a complete makeover when it was decided to straighten out the quays along the Scheldt. The “fleets” were filled in, and work started on the Steen dock, the Schippers dock and the Kool dock, followed later by the Africa dock and the America dock.


The push to the North
The first three decades of the 20th century brought huge expansion, both in terms of the freight volume and in terms of additional capacity in the polder areas to the North.
The quays were extended, a third sea lock was built (Kruisschans lock), and additional docks were excavated (Leopold dock and Hansa dock).
The port then had a useful dock area of 300 ha and an available quay length of 36 km. The freight volume in 1929 was more than 26 million tonnes.
Antwerp was the third-largest seaport in continental Europe, with a very high reputation as a general cargo port and port of lading where “every cargo finds a ship and every ship a cargo.” Private companies built specialised transhipment facilities for grain, chemicals, coal, fruit and refrigerated goods. Meanwhile the first industrial companies (carmakers and oil refineries) made their appearance.
Towards the end of the Second World War, Antwerp was liberated almost by surprise, finding itself one of the few European ports that had not been completely destroyed. The freight volume rose very quickly, reaching 29 million tonnes in 1950.
1951: Construction of the Marshall dock and start of oil refining activities.
1955: Construction of the Boudewijn lock.
The post-war expansion of the port of Antwerp was given a huge boost on the right bank with the Ten Year Plan (1956-1965) which included the construction and full equipping of the 5th Haven dock, the Industrie dock, a turning basin, the 6th Haven dock and the Kanaal docks B1, B2 and B3. The plan also provided for expansion of the loading bridge company, a mooring jetty for tankers and construction of a new sealock in Zandvliet.
1967: Inauguration of the Churchill dock, where the first container ship ever built, the “Atlantic Span,” moored on 10 September 1967.
The container volume in Antwerp grew exponentially right from the very start: In 1966 the port handled 295,955 tonnes of containers, in 1967 the figure was more than 480,000 tonnes and by 1969 it passed the 1 million tonne mark for the first time.

Expansion to the left bank of the Scheldt
The first plans for development on the left bank of the river were drawn up in the mid-1960s. Due to the great demand by industry for sites with port access, a town and country planning concept was worked out for development of an industrial port with the emphasis on petrochemicals. After various draft plans had been considered, the definitive plans for what came to be known as the “Waasland port” were finally adopted, with access for seagoing ships near Baalhoek and a lock near Kallo. In the port itself, the Waasland canal was to form the connection between the two locks, with various mooring docks leading off it. The groundwork started on 1 April 1971 with construction of the Kallo lock, but the shipping access near Baalhoek was never built.
1969: Opening of the Kennedy tunnel, the second crossing between the two banks of the Scheldt.
The 1970-1976 six-year plan provided for additional infrastructure projects to safeguard the future of the port. The port complex on the right bank of the Scheldt was completed, and access to the left bank was provided by construction of a canal dock leading through the Saeftinge marshes and connecting to a sealock at Baalhoek in the Netherlands, thus avoiding the Bath bottleneck.
In the 1970s the port handled a record volume of 60 million tonnes (1970) and 3.3 million containers (1975).
Whereas until 1970 81% of the freight passing through Antwerp originated from or was destined for Belgium and Luxemburg, with a strong emphasis on exports, 20 years later the situation was completely reversed: Antwerp became a transit port for goods going mainly to and from Germany, France, the UK, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Italy.
The latest phase of industrial development in and around the port of Antwerp commenced with the strong revival of the economy in the late 1980s. Very large investments were made around that time, considerably expanding the production capacity of the companies concerned. In the meantime the freight handling companies once again needed more space to expand: the increase in scale of shipping led to larger and larger sites being required on the landward side for transhipment, storage and distribution of ever-larger consignments. Partly as a result of this investment boom the remaining open sites on the right bank began to be built over during this period. Companies in the breakbulk sector in particular were able to expand their activities thanks to the reviving economy, and thanks also to the growing importance of semi-finished and finished products in international trade.

1980: Inauguration of the Delwaide dock, largely reserved for container handling.
1985: The container volume reaches 11 million tonnes.
1989: Construction of the Berendrecht lock.
1990: Inauguration of the Europa terminal, construction of the Vrasene dock and opening of the Liefkenshoek tunnel, the third Scheldt crossing.
1991: Inauguration of a chain of radar stations along the Scheldt, allowing shipping to be monitored from the estuary mouth right up to Antwerp.
1995: The freight volume reaches 108 million tonnes, including 25.8 million tonnes of containerised general cargo.
1996: Inauguration of the Noordzee terminal; construction of the Verrebroek dock.
An important step for the further development of the port of Antwerp was the setting up of Antwerp Port Authority as an independent, municipally-owned company in 1997. Thanks to this independent status, the Port Authority is able to pursue its objectives in dealings with government and with market players all over the world. The present market trends, such as the increasing competition between ports and the trend towards concentration among shipping companies, demand continuous efforts in terms of cost control and services.
In the meantime, the constant growth of container trade made the need for additional capacity particularly acute. To make up for the shortage of capacity, more and more efficient use was made of the space available in the existing terminals, while the container handlers for their part responded with large investments in modern, highly productive container terminals. But even this was not enough to keep up with the growth in container freight. Since the limits for expansion on the right bank of the Scheldt had already been reached, alternatives were sought on the left bank. In 1998 the Flemish government gave the go-ahead for construction of the Deurganck dock. This was to be a tidal dock, with access for container ships directly from the Scheldt, without any locks.
At the beginning of 2001 the Port Authority signed an agreement with the nature conservation organisation Natuurpunt Antwerpen Noord. The collaboration agreement led to publication of a report entitled “De Antwerpse Haven Natuurlijker” (The Port of Antwerp more naturally), outlining a shared vision that forms the basis for long-term policy on developing an ecological infrastructure network in the Antwerp seaport area.

On 4 March 2002 representatives of the Flemish and Dutch governments met in Flushing to sign a second Memorandum of Understanding. The emphasis in the “Flushing Memorandum” is on drawing up an outline development plan for the Scheldt estuary until 2010, seeking to achieve a balance between the various stakeholders while paying attention to three main priorities, namely accessibility, flood protection and nature conservation.
In December 2003 the 5 million TEU mark was reached for the first time ever. A total of 143 million tonnes of freight was handled in 2003, including 61.35 million tonnes (5.4 million TEU) of container freight.
The International Ship and Port Facility Security Code came into force on 1 July 2004, aimed at making ships and port facilities secure against terrorist activities, thanks to an international framework for collaboration between local and federal authorities.

Ready for the challenges of tomorrow
The Deurganck dock was officially opened on 6 July 2005 by King Albert II. The Deurganck dock is crucial for the port of Antwerp to continue acting as an efficient hub for international trade. All studies and forecasts indicate that container transport will be the main growth area for international trade in the following decade. Once all its terminals are operational, the Deurganck dock will handle more than 7 million TEU annually. With the opening of the Deurganck dock the container handling capacity of the port has more than doubled.
On 21 December 2005 four treaties were signed by the competent Dutch and Flemish ministers in the Dutch city of Middelburg. The treaties cover the implementation of the 2010 Development Sketch, collaboration on policy and management for the Scheldt estuary, joint nautical management in the Scheldt area, and the delinkage of tugging charges in Rotterdam and the ports on the Scheldt. In 2007 Antwerp recorded a freight volume of 182.9 million tonnes, including 94.5 million tonnes of container freight.

©2008 Haven van Antwerpen