200 million tonnes From past to present Introduction Dear Customers and Colleagues, We would like to congratulate the Antwerp port community and you, our customers. The port of Antwerp finished 2015 with a record freight volume of 208.42 million tonnes and passed the 9 million mark for containers by a wide margin, at 9.6 TEU. Indeed with expansion of more than 7.5% in container volume Antwerp has the strongest growth in the region. This new record has been achieved thanks to the efforts of the port community and our faithful customers. This result is no accident, however, because “Everything is possible at the Port of Antwerp.” Over the past decades there has been massive investments in the port, not only by multinational companies but also by private companies in Belgium and by the Flemish government. This has resulted in the largest integrated petrochemical hub in Europe, highly specialised terminals and very high productivity, together forming a sustainable link in the international supply chain. As a port we look towards the future, offering our customers new growth possibilities in a sustainable context. Preparations are under way for a new large tidal dock with accompanying terminal capacity. The area of more than 1000 hectares that has been set aside for this, the Saeftinghe Development Area, also offers space for logistics, freight handling and industry. In addition to this project on the Left bank of the Scheldt there are also reconversion projects on the Right bank. The Churchill Industrial Zone (96 ha) is one of these, offering a top location for the development of industrial activities in the port of Antwerp. We offer you our rich history and are determined to write new history for you in the heart of Europe. In doing so we have opted for sustainable development which respects people and the environment. Our location deep inland combined with our excellent connections with the European hinterland are signifi- cant advantages here. The challenges facing our sector are large, demanding long-term vision, creativity, innovation and out-of-the-box thinking. This is a challenge which we gladly accept along. Marc Van Peel Eddy Bruyninckx Port Alderman CEO Antwerp Port Authority Chairman Antwerp Port Authority 3 From zero to 50 million tonnes The port of Antwerp has a particularly rich history. Ever since the Middle Ages ships laden with cargo and passengers have found their way up the river Scheldt to Antwerp. After the “Golden Century” in which Antwerp grew into a prosperous international port, the closure of the Scheldt in 1585 represented a new low in the history of the port. It would be nearly 300 years until the toll on the Scheldt could be finally redeemed in 1863 and the river became fully open to commercial traffic once more. The “port on the river” began to flourish in the decades that followed. After the Second World War, the Marshall Plan and the Belgian government’s Ten Year Plan brought hitherto unseen growth: the volume of the docks doubled and the port expanded along the Right bank of the Scheldt right up to the Dutch border. Before 1800: from river port to world port 12th century – early 15th century Antwerp functions as a port of embarkment for passengers travelling to England and Zee- land, and as a cargo port for German wine being exported to England. Products such as wool and cloth bring more trade to the city. The port has three moorings and three docks along the Scheldt: the Holenvliet, the Sint-Jansvliet and the Burchtgracht. Shipping orig- inally reaches the port via the Eastern Scheldt (an arm of the Scheldt estuary), but a series of storm tides causes natural deepening of the Western Scheldt so that seagoing ships can access the port directly and trade flourishes accordingly. 16th century Antwerp experiences its “Golden Century” when it first begins to flourish as a major international port, a position which uniquely among ports it still maintains today. The port prospers thanks to booming exports from the South Netherlands provinces, with among other things art objects finding their way via Antwerp to France, Spain, Portugal and even Morocco. During this Golden Century Antwerp develops into a centre of world trade, with ever larger ships calling at the port. To support its further growth and de- velopment an extension of the city is planned to the North, in what is now the Eilandje neighbourhood. 1550 1585 1811 1813 The port has 10 mooring Closure of the Scheldt Construction of the first The “Grand bassin” jetties and eight docks dock “Le petit bassin” enters operation Antwerp mayor Marnix van Sint-Aldegonde signs the capitulation in 1585 and the city falls into Spanish hands. In response the Dutch promptly blockade the river. Antwerp is no longer a centre of world commerce and declines into a purely local, inland port, although it is still internationally important. 6 > > > > > 50 100 150 200 From 1800 to 1940: The industrial revolution propels development Late 18th century – 19th century Napoleon Bonaparte brings sweeping changes and the Scheldt is once more opened to shipping. He sees Antwerp as “a pistol pointed at the heart of England” and decides to build new docks and shipyards. The first dock, “Le petit bassin,” is built in 1811 and “Le grand bassin” follows in 1813. These are later renamed the Bonaparte dock and the Willem dock respectively. Between 1816 and 1829 the port experiences average annual growth of 4.5%. Thanks to the in- dustrial revolution and new technologies the port forges trading links with Africa, America and Asia. At that time Antwerp is larger than the ports of Rotterdam and Amsterdam together. The transit trade with the German hinterland also grows and flourishes. On 16 July 1863 the maritime nations of the world finally redeem the toll imposed by the Dutch on ships sailing to and from Antwerp. The Scheldt is open to commercial shipping once more and development takes off. > Transfer from the Willem dock to the Bonaparte dock 1829 1860 1863 1866 Kattendijk dock Asia dock 1890 Scheldt Hout dock Suez dock 1 million tonnes 129,000 tonnes toll finally Verbindings dock Lefebvre dock of freight handled abolished Kempisch dock Petroleum dock > Docks 1872 Between1860 and 1890 The available length of quay expands six-fold. In that period the volume of exports from the port of Antwerp also grows by a factor of six, while new records for imports and transit freight are set regularly. The port of Antwerp is once more a European hub and leading international trading firms set up branches here. Exports are dominated by semi-finished iron and steel products: ex- ports of iron and steel quadruple to 1.3 million tonnes. In this period also the Red Star Line starts operating. Eventually the shipping company carries some two million emigrants from Antwerp to America. 7 > Port activity on the quay, around 1930 > Port activity on the quay, around 1930 1907 1st Haven dock Royers lock > King Leopold II visits the Royers lock, 1907 8 > > > > > 50 100 150 200 20th century Antwerp is bursting at the seams and it is decided to straighten the Scheldt quays (1875- 1911). The “fleets” (natural inlets along the river where ships berth) are filled in, and new docks are built to the North of the city. In 1913 a total of 7,056 ships call at the port. Onward transport towards the hinterland is mainly by rail and barge. Barges carry 10.3 million of the 19 million tonnes of freight. Between 1900 and 1930 the port experiences strong growth in freight volume, only temporarily interrupted by the First World War. Expansion continues towards the North with the construc- tion of new locks. In 1929 the dockers unload 26 million tonnes of breakbulk and other freight. Antwerp is the third-largest port on the continent of Europe, with a very strong reputation as a port of lading and breakbulk. The port lays the basis for what is still one of its main advantages, as a port where “Every cargo finds a ship and every ship a cargo.” Specialist handling facilities are built for grain, chemicals, coal, fruit and refrigerated goods, and the first industrial compa- nies (car manufacturers and oil refineries) set up shop in Antwerp. The port is now firmly estab- lished as a distribution centre of world importance, with a reputation for fast, efficient work. > Sack carrier 1913 1914 1928 1932 2nd Haven dock Van Cauwelaert lock Canal dock A is 19 million tonnes 3rd Haven dock Leopold dock renamed the Albert of freight Hansa dock dock Antwerp is the most important steel port with 3.7 million tonnes > Prince Leopold visits the Kruisschans lock (now the Van Cauwelaert lock), 1926 9 From 1940 to 1964: big expansion to the North Marshall Plan forms the basis for the largest chemical cluster in Europe The port of Antwerp plays an important role in the Second World War. It is large, with modern facilities and good connections with the hinterland (including the Albert canal), and it is close to the front. Antwerp is liberated by the Allies in 1944 and the port quickly picks up where it had left off, especially as it is one of the few European ports to remain more or less intact. Fur- thermore the Marshall Plan gives the necessary impulse for development. Thanks to this plan Antwerp grows into the largest modern integrated petrochemical cluster in Europe. The Petro- leum dock is built in 1951, designed specially to handle petroleum products. Later it is renamed the Marshall dock. The composition of the various types of cargoes handled changes radically as a result: the rising volumes of oil imports account for half of the growth and ore imports for one quarter.