THE TERNEUZEN-GHENT CANAL - A LIVING LINE TO THE SEA by Mrs. Y. KREPS-HEYNDRICKS, C. Eng., Director, Scheldt Department of the Belgian Ministry of Public Works, R. ROMAN, C. Eng., Deputy Director, Scheldt Department of the Belgian Ministry of Public Works, H.A. NUHOFF, C. Eng., Senior Engineer, Zealand Department of the Netherlands Ministry of Transport and Public Works (Belgium) ABSTRACT SOHHAIRE The article gives a brief description of the L'article donne une description succinate de history and development of the connection of the port of l'histoire et du developpement de la connection du port Ghent to the sea. Attention is paid to the status of de Gand vers la Mer. the present canal, which runs through two states as well L'attention est attiree sur la situation du canal actuel as to the design of the canal. Traffic figures are qui s'etend sur le territoire de deux etats. Il evoque given, which show the rapid growth of the port of Ghent. des chiffres du trafic sur celui-ci et la rapide The influence of the use of ships of increasing evolution du Port de Gand. Les essais de passage de na­ dimensions has been detennined in trials and by vires de grandes dimensions ant eu pour consequence les consequence improvements of the canal are being ameliorations du canal. L'article decrit enfin les designed, Foreseen developments in future are described. projets de developpement dans le futur. KEYWORDS HOTS CLEFS Canal. Lock. International regulations. Transport. Canal. Ecluse. Reglements internationaux. Transport. Safety. Securite. 1. INTRODUCTION On 26 August 1329 the people of Ghent obtained the concession for the waterway known 1.1. HISTORY as the 11 P&cherie des Chatelains", or that The town of Ghent has struggled to secure a section of the old Sas van Gent canal between passage to the sea ever since its foundation in Ghent and Rodenhuize, which connected with the the 10th century. By the end of the century it Braakman. In 1540 the Holy Roman Emperor, was connected to the sea by a waterway called Charles V, put an end to navigation on the "le Torrent des Chatelains en le Braeckman" canal, expropriating it by right. As trade and which ran in nothern direction through the industry began to decline however, the Emperor present-day municipalities of Kluizen, Ertvelde returned the canal to the people of Ghent, and Boekhoute. Heavy floods caused this water­ bestowing it on them by an order dated way to silt up. Between 1228 and ·1231 the October 1547. Hhen Flanders 1~as once again people of Ghent began to dig a canal along the ravaged by severe floods, causing the complete bed of the Oude Lieve river between Ghent and silting up of the Lieve and the Braakman, Damme which 1ms to flow into the river Zwin. Ghent, the great medieval centre of trade, felt This canal was completed in 1322 under the that its success and prosperity were rule of Louis of Flanders and Nevers, but it threatened; in 1547 the town was granted too gradually silted up. permission to dig a canal from Rodenhuize via 64 Sas van Gen.t to th~ sea dyke of the Braakman. Details of the arrangements were later This canal was completed in 1561, at the same elaborated in separate treaties, notably with time as the work to deepen the "Pecherie des regar.d to that part of the waterway which Chatelains." belongs to the Netherlands. In 1613 the States of Flanders were The works on Dutch territory are the -empowered to dig a section of the canal from property of the Dutch State wh~ch is obliged to _ Ghent to Bruges between Ghent and St. Joris. ensure their maintenance and operation. These works . were twice abandoned~ being resumed Each state lays down tlie necessiJ,ry regulations in 1664 and 1724 respectively . Although not for its own territory, but not without prior fully completed, this canal provided a d.irect consultation with the other. link between Ghent and Bruges, where the route Proposals to improve or renovate the works are had previously followed the Lieve and the canal always discussed by both countries. In from Damme to Bruges. In 1751 Empress Maria addition, arrangements have been made regarding Theresa ordered that the Ghent-Bruges canal be thhe drainage of Belgian land into the canal, broadened and deepened to provide Ghent with a the quality of the water near the Dutch border passage to the sea. The "Coupure" in Ghent was and the desired salt content of the canal then dug to connect the Leie with the Brugse water. Belgium pays the Netherlands a fixed Vaart waterway. annual sum towards the cost of operating the canal. Since 1795 only inland vessels had been At the beginning of this century this sum still -able to use the Sasse Vaart waterway. A plan represented a substantial contribution towards was therefore drawn up in 1817 to re-dig the the costs involved but inflation and other Sas van Gent canal and extend it as far as the factors have reduced its value to less than 1 % Scheldt at Terneuzen. Work began on 1 May 1825 of the total costs. and · the canal, comprising two reaches, with locks at Sas van Gent and Terneuzen, was opened Issues concerning the use, maintenance and to shipping on 18 November 1827. improvement of the canal works necessitate constant consultation between the Dutch and Belgian Governments. A permanent committee of Dutch and Belgian civil servants, the Scheldt Technical Committee, has therefore been set up to advise both governments and regular conferences are held between the ministers concerned. Generally speaking, these talks have produced solutions that are acceptable to both countries, although certain wishes remain unfulfilled on both sides. Belgium would particularly like to see the canal opened to larger vessels while the Netherlands is not wholly satisfied about maintenance costs and water quality. 1.3. THE PRESENT CANAL Fig. 1 - Situation of the Ghent region. Since · it was dug in 1827 the Ghent­ Terneuzen Canal has been improved on three 1.2. STATUS occasions, in 1885, 1910 and 1968 respectively. The pre-1968 works have now largely disappeared The Terneuzen-Ghent Canal was planned and or have fallen into disuse, with the · exception dug during the period when the present Benelux of the sea lock dating from 1910 which now countries formed a single kingdom (1815-1830). serves as a reserve lock (netto length 140 m, When this kingdom broke up · in 1830 and the width 18 m, min. depth above the banks 6,5 m). Netherlands and Belgium became separate states, it meant that the canal ran through two states. The process of negotiating and planning the Sound agreements on mutual rights and obli­ works which were completed in 1968, began gations were therefore necessary. In the treaty shortly after the Second World War. The in­ of 1839, regulating the definitive separation tended dimensions of the new sea lock and the of the Netherlands and Belgium, it was laid improved canal were originally calculated by down that the people of both countries would comparison with other existing locks and water­ have free access to the Ghent- Terneuzen Canal. ways. Thus the dimensions of the sea lock were 65 based on those of the Van Cauwelaerts Lock at No research of an.y kind was carried out Antwerp (270 x 35 m) and the . locks in the in to how safely and easily a ship of· 50,000 Panama Canal (304,6 x 33,5 m) while the profile d.w. t. could pass through the lock and canal, of the canal was to correspond to that of the given the above specifications. This was quite North Sea Canal as it was then (see fig. 2). the · reverse of the case in respect of other canal improvements beiAg planned at bout this time (including the Panama, Suez and North Sea canals). The action of the lock was, however, ICANAL TERNEUZEN - GHENT I extensively tested at the Hydraulics Laboratory in Delft, particular attention being devoted to FIRST IMPROVEMENT the system whereby saltwater intruding into the canal via the canal would be returned to the. liilll*10 _-4-40 · Scheldt. For this purpose the canal bed 25 immediately adjacent to the lock was deepened, creating a basin where the saltwater collects. At low tide it runs under its own momentum through the lock culverts and back into the Scheldt . The amount of salt intruding into the canal each time the lock is operated can thus be limited. Research was also carried out at the Hydraulics Laboratory into the best shape for the outer approach harbour form the paint of view of shipping, the maintenance work which would have to be carried out there in the form of dredging, and the problem of waves penetrating the approach harbour. c.l.= canal level ln.a.p. •2.13) Apart form the lock for maritime shipping a further lock was constructed for inland Fig. 2 - Development profile Terneuzen-Ghent Canal. shipping. This is a standard lock for push-tow traffic s imi.lar . to several others in the Netherlands (netto length 280 m, width 24 m minimum, depth above the brinks about 5 m). It was on this basis that the initial plans It is designed to allow the safe and easy for the works were drawn up. Only at a later passage of push-tow barges measuring 22,8 m in stage was it realised that the ' canal would have width and no more than 193 m in length.