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 distri- bution. 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. 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