Connecting the World

CONNECTING THE WORLD

CITY OF BRUGES ENG _INTRODUCTION

Bruges has a long maritime history which goes back to the Middle Ages. Medieval Bruges was the meeting place par excellence for traders from all over Europe. Unfortunately, the economic growth came to a halt in the 15th century with the silting of the Zwin region.

Thanks to the development of an open seaport at the Belgian coast in the 19th and 20th centuries the city has regained its nautical window on the world. Bruges, with its port of Zeebrugge, constitutes today an economic and logistic growth pole for the 21st century.

Zeebrugge, or Bruges by the Sea, is a young seaport with modern port equipment suitable for the largest ships. The present structure of the port dates from as recent as 1985. The emergence of the roll-on/roll-off techniques, the contai- nerisation and the increase in the scale of the ships convinced the Belgian government to develop the coastal port into a deepsea port. An extensive outer port, a new sea lock with entrance to an inner port, gave Zeebrugge a new impulse in the years that followed.

As a result total cargo traffic rose spectacularly from 14 million tons in 1985 to 47 million tons today. Zeebrugge belongs to the range of ports from Le Havre to Hamburg, which together handle more than a billion tons of cargo a year. Almost every product the consumer finds in the shops, comes through these ports. Zeebrugge has become, in barely a couple of decades, an important entry port for the European market.

Zeebrugge has developed itself into a versatile port, which not only focuses on European roll-on/roll-off ferry traffic. Zeebrugge is also important for intercontinental (container) traffic, feeder traffic, conventional loads, liquefied natural gas, cruises and last but not least the traffic of new cars. In this section Zeebrugge is one of the largest car handling ports in the world. The unit loads, roro and container traffics, take up three quarters of the total cargo throughput. Zeebrugge is a coastal port and guarantees sufficient water depth in the access channel and along the quays, by a result of which the continually larger container ships can be loaded and unloaded at any time. This competitive advan- tage means that the largest shipping companies in the world have Zeebrugge on their sailing schedule. Also several world-renowned container operators have invested substantially in the port infrastructure.

The port offers an average of 25 daily departures chiefly to the United Kingdom, but also increasingly to Scandinavia, the Baltic region and Southern Europe. In combination with a wide range of intercontinental services and good hinterland connections, Zeebrugge is especially suited for international companies to organise their European or worldwide distribution. In the meantime, quite a few companies have invested considerably in logistic centres. From here they add value to their cargo prior to distribution throughout Europe.

The port has grown from a pure transit port to a logistic platform during the last decades. The role of Zeebrugge as engine of the regional economy is growing. Today more than 20,000 people have a job, directly or indirectly, thanks to the port.

47million TONS/2020

_TRAFFIC UNDER THE MICROSCOPE

» ROLL-ON/ROLL-OFF TRAFFIC

Zeebrugge plays a prominent role as a roll-on/roll-off port within Europe. More than 1.3 million trucks pass through the port every year. Daily more than 25 cargo vessels leave for the United Kingdom, Northern and Southern Europe. Due to the congested European roads more and more traffic on the North-South axis finds its way by maritime transport. This has resulted in an increase in shipping routes from Zeebrugge to Scandinavia and Southern Europe. 14,2 million tons were handled in 2020.

Zeebrugge has specialised vigorously in the transport of unaccompanied trailers and 45’ containers. Almost 90% of all roro freight crosses without the accompaniment of a driver. The last couple of years, the intra-European ferry traffic has been marked by a growing share of containers.

An important part of the roro traffic is the handling of new cars, agricultural machinery and excavators. The incre- ased traffic in new cars is a result of the globalisation of the world economy. Production centres are now spread all over the world, by a result of which much more transport is needed to get the products to the customers.

Intercontinental car operators make good use of the various intra-European services in Zeebrugge to distribute their rolling cargo all over the world. The cars and machines are being adapted in the logistic centres to suit the local markets. These logistic activities (stock management, storage and assembly activities) create quite a lot of employment and embed the traffic in the port. With an annual volume of 2.2 million new cars, Zeebrugge is one of the largest car handling ports in the world. The port has 400 ha parking space available for the car traffic. 2,191,299 new per year » CONTAINER TRAFFIC

The mass transport of cargo is increasingly done by containers. The sector is in explosive growth because it constitutes a cheap and safe type of transport and because a container can easily be shifted from one transport mode (ship, truck or train) to another.

Zeebrugge is a fairly recent player on the container market. The coastal port offers weekly container liner services to the Middle and the Far East. The shipping companies deploy the largest container carriers on these Europe/Asia trade route. The port is part of an exclusive group of ports that offer sufficient water depth at all times for the contemporary, colossal container carriers. At the moment Zeebrugge can handle ships with a loading capacity of no less than 20,000TEUs (TEU = standard container having a length of 20 feet or 6 meters). The shipping companies can rely on the high productivity and flexibility of the dock labourers to load and unload the containers in record time. These assets pave the way for fu- ture growth in Zeebrugge.

Large intercontinental container vessels are handled at CSP Zeebrugge Terminal, which is equipped with ultramodern container gantry cranes. As a result of reorganisations by the major alliances of container lines deepsea traffic has been on the increase in Zeebrugge during the last year. As a result of the scaling-up of the container ships many containers must be transported from Zeebrugge with smaller ships or feeders to their final destination in the United Kingdom or Northern and Southern Europe. In this respect Zeebrugge is developing into a genuine container hub. Other containers go to the hinterland by truck, block train, estuary barge or inland barge. With estuary ships large volumes of containers can now be transported to the estuary of the Western Scheldt, via a short sea route. The ship then sails further towards Antwerp and the European network of inland waterways. » BULK GOODS

In addition to the unit loads, Zeebrugge handles 14 million tons of dry bulk and liquid bulk cargoes annually. The dry bulk mainly consists of materials for the building industry such as sand and and gravel. Also grain, fodder and fertilizers are handled here. The liquid bulk consists of liquefied natural gas (LNG), petroleum products and molasses. Liquid gas comes from, among others Siberia and the Gulf State of Qatar. In the reception installation of Fluxys it is turned back into gas for the Belgian market. Also the Norwegian and British gas fields are connected to Zeebrug- ge via pipelines, the “Zeepipe” and the “Interconnector”. This gas is distributed all over Europe. Today, LNG ships not only discharge, but also load natural gas. The second LNG jetty can receive small, medium sized and large LNG ships, as well as regasification vessels. Zeebrugge has grown into an important gas distribution platform, which meanhwile provides 15% of the West European gas market.

» CONVENTIONAL CARGO

In the inner port companies specialize in labour-intensive niche-markets such as the handling and storing of pe- rishables (fruit and deepfrozen products), wood pulp, steel, etc. These breakbulk goods are loaded and unloaded conventionally with (mobile) grab cranes. The breakbulk sector generates a great deal of employment (storage, stock management, handling, packaging and regrouping of goods). Zeebrugge is increasingly developing into a real European ‘food hub’. The excellent air quality of the coastal area is ideal for precious cargo such as food products. The Border Inspection Post – an integration of customs and the Federal Agency for Food Safety - attracts new food traffics too. The transportation of food products with reefer containers is a growing trend which is anticipated by the port.

INTERCONTINENTAL CONNECTIONS

Osaka Nagoya Incheon Yokkaichi Hitachi Busan Pyeongtaek Kobe Yokohama Omaezaki ZEEBRUGGE Masan Higashi BELGIUM Toyohashi Gamagori Tacoma Portland Halifax Newark New York Philadelphia Xingang Port Hueneme Baltimore Richmond Long Beach Charleston San Diego Savannah Brunswick Shanghai Houston Jacksonville Ningbo Galveston Xiamen Port Manatee Xinsha Yantian Nansha Hong Kong San Juan Manzanillo Veracruz Lazaro Cardenas Pointe-à-Pitre Puerto Quetzal Fort-De-France Acajutla Corinto Laem Chabang San Lorenzo Cartagena Vung Tau Puerto Caldera Balboa Port Klang Singapore

Esmeraldes Papeete Manta Guayaquil

Suape Callao

Rio de Janeiro

Iquique Portocel Noumea

Santos Port Reunion Paranagua Brisbane Rio Grande Durban Fremantle Port Kembla San Antonio East London Sydney Zarate Port Elizabeth

Melbourne Auckland Nelson Tauranga Napier

General cargo Containers Roro

Esmeraldes Papeete Manta Guayaquil

Suape Callao

Rio de Janeiro EUROPEAN CONNECTIONS Iquique Portocel Noumea

Santos Port Reunion Kemi Paranagua Brisbane Oulu Rio Grande Durban Fremantle Port Kembla San Antonio East London Pietarsaari Sydney Zarate Port Elizabeth

Melbourne Auckland Nelson Tauranga Finland Napier

Kotka St.Petersburg Helsinki Sweden Hanko General cargo Norway Paldiski Containers Roro Frederikstad Drammen Estonia Halden Russia

Wallhalm Göteborg Latvia Hirtshals Riga

Den. Tyne Esbjerg Malmö Middlesbrough Hull Killingholme Husum Gdynia Gdansk Dublin Eire Grimbsy Lübeck Rosslare Cuxhaven U.K.

Amsterdam Portbury Pologne Tilbury Sheerness Neth. Rotterdam Southampton Purfleet ZEEBRUGGE Germany Belgium

Le Havre Czech Rep.

Montoir Saint-Nazaire France

Hungary Switzerland

Italy Vigo Gijon Livorno Santander Bilbao Pasajes

Derince Borusan Barcelona Spain Yenikoy Portugal Tarragona

Greece Turkey

Sagunto

Piraeus

Tenerife Las Palmas Tanger

Casablanca Mostaganem Maroc Algeria FISHERY The “Vlaamse Visveiling” is one of the main fish auctions in Europe. Beside the supplying, handling and processing of fresh fish a lot of other foods are stored in the freezer warehouses in the inner port.

» PASSENGERS

Zeebrugge welcomed approximately 700,000 passengers in 2019. They either take the popular crossing to Hull in England or moor in the port aboard one of the luxury cruise vessels for a day trip to one of the many Flemish cultural towns or seaside resorts. Zeebrugge has, thanks to its central location and its excellent maritime accessibility, developed into a prominent cruise port with annually more than 140 visiting cruise ships. Bruges, which is recognised by the UNESCO as a world-heritage site, certainly is a growing attraction for cruise tourists. _DISTRIBUTION

Several local transport companies in and around Zeebrugge have specialied in distribution to the United Kingdom, such as ECS European Container Services/2XL and Middlegate Europe. International manufacturers such as Procter & Gamble, Lidl and Wallmart make use of their services to streamline their logistics. In this way they can supply the British supermarkets more efficiently and at a lower cost. The port also accommodates multinationals that use Zeebrugge as distribution platform. From here they add value to their cargo.

Some examples: STORA ENSO The Scandinavian paper producer transports paper reels daily from the Swedish port of Gothenburg, to the Zeebrugge distribution platform. This is done with extra large containers that transport loads up to 80 tons. Annually there is a turnover of more than 2 million tons of forest products.

ZEEBRUGGE FOOD LOGISTICS Several service providers, a.o. Zeebrugge Food Logistics or Flanders Cold Centre, offer handling and storage of temperature-controlled goods, from consolidation centres for food for retail to transit platforms for perishable goods for overseas destinations. These companies also offer value added services such as order picking, packing and quality control.

TROPICANA Every year more than 300 million litres of fresh fruit juice is distributed to the European markets from the bottling plant of the American fruit juice producer.

TOYOTA The Toyota Vehicle Logistics Centre is the most important junction for the import and export of Toyota and Lexus cars in Europe. The cars are inspected in Zeebrugge before distribution to the dealer network or are fitted with options. BRIDGESTONE The European logistic centre of the Japanese tyre producer distributes from Zeebrugge annually 10 million tyres for passenger cars, trucks, industrial and agricultural appli- cations.

DANONE WATERS The British market is supplied from Zeebrugge with a.o. Evian water. This cargo is mainly railed in from France.

ZESPRI Sea-Invest has a packaging plant for the Zespri kiwifruit from New-Zealand. Zeebrugge is the most significant import port for the supply of the European market.

MACHINERY Companies such as Case New Holland and Caterpillar make use of the many intercontinental roro connections to distribute their products worldwide, with or without assembly in the Zeebrugge terminals.

EFICO - SEABRIDGE Coffee merchant Efico imports green coffee which is pro- cessed and stored in Zeebrugge before being distributed to several European coffee roasting houses. _GREEN PORT

The port of Zeebrugge wants to make the port activities more sustainable by investing in new technologies. Wind turbines generate green electricity, which can be stored by conversion to hydrogen. LNG is further promoted as an alternative fuel for ships and quay shore power installations have to reduce emissions from ships. _. USEFUL LINKS www.portofzeebrugge.be www.apzi.be www.zeebruggeopen.be www.portconnect.be www.brugge.be www.vlaamsehavencommissie.be www.cewez.be www.vlaamsewaterweg.be

» PHOTOGRAPHY

Piet Vandenkerkhove, MBZ Joke Swyngedouw, MBZ Luchtfotografie Henderyckx, Izegem Mike Louagie Dirk Neyts Henk Claeys PORT MAP

01"Zand" access channel 01 02 Wielingen dock 03 Albert II dock 04 Brittannia dock 05 Pierre Vandamme lock 02 22 06 Connection dock 07 Northern Inlet dock 32 08 Southern Canal dock 21 37 09 Visart lock 10 Baudouin canal + widening 32 11 Inland waterways 03 23 12 Prince Philip dock 95 13 Old Ferry dock 45 24 14 Leopold canal 98 15 Schipdonk canal 74 21 Western breakwater 33 47 04 22 Eastern breakwater 35 23 L.N.G.-dam 35 24 Leopold II-dam 46 25 25 Naval base 34 26 Border inspection post 33 35 Knokke-Heist ROLL-ON/ROLL-OFF HANDLING 05 26 79 31 Toyota Terminal 09 Zeebrugge 32 PSA Zeebrugge (Wielingen Terminal) 14 33 P&O Ferries Terminal 38 34 C.Ro Ports Zeebrugge / Cruises (Swedish Quay) 58 85 57 12 35 C.Ro Ports Zeebrugge (Hermes Quay-Brittannia dock-Minerva Square) 75 51 36 C.Ro Ports Zeebrugge (Canada Quay) 59 15 97 38 37 C.Ro Ports Zeebrugge 13 06 38 International Car Operators (Northern Inlet dock) 07 87 39 International Car Operators (Bastenaken Terminal) 89 42 40 International Car Operators (Hanzeterminal) 86 52 88 41 International Car Operators 42 Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics Zeebrugge Zwanken- 06 36 damme 43 Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics Zeebrugge 08 Ramskapelle CONTAINER HANDLING 39 45 CSP Zeebrugge Terminal 43 36 46 Deepsea Terminal 47 Railway track treatment zone 99 41 96 81 80 BREAKBULK HANDLING 10 51 International Car Operators (Northern Inlet Dock) Lissewege 31 52 United Molasses/Tameco 77 39 53 Nieuwpoortse Handelsmaatschappij 78 54 Alzagri 76 55 Seaport Shipping & Trading 40 56 Depré Storage & Handling 77 57 Sagrex 58 Borlix 59 Baggerwerken Decloedt (DEME) 60 Demaecker & Van Haecke (DMVH) 81 11 61 Diamur 62 Geldof 63 Marpos 64 Oil Tank Terminal 65 Galloo 66 Tomar 67 VARO Energy 68 Klasmann Deilmann Belgium 69 Depré Storage & Handling 70 Despieghelaere 71 Vematrans Dudzele 72 Biopower Storage 73 Verhelst - Agri 53 72 74 Starious Bitumen 63 DISTRIBUTION 75 Transportzone Zeebrugge (TTZ) 62 76 Bridgestone Logistics Europe 61 77 Maritime Logistic Zone (MLZ) 78 Seabridge Logistics 10 79 Delta Transport 70 80 NDQ 71 81 Lingang 64 82 Van der Vlist

EUROPEAN FOOD CENTER 57 85 Vlaamse Visveiling/ZFL 54 86 Tropicana 87 B.N.F.W. Fruit Terminal (Sea-Invest) 88 Flanders Cold Center (Sea-Invest) 65 89 Fruit Terminal (Sea-Invest) 73 GAS Koolkerke

95 L.N.G. terminal (Fluxys) 60 96 Zeepipe-terminal (Gassco) 97 Interconnector-terminal (Interconnector Baczee) 60 55 55 98 Regasiﬁcation installation (Euroservices) 6856 99 Nitrogen plant (Fluxys) 67 69 66 Port Area Planned Port Area

Existing waterways or docks Brugge Waterways or docks planned or under construction

Residential areas Tern Island Roads Wind turbines Railways Radar tower Natural gas pipeline Roro installations 06/2021