Western Scheldt dredging to upgrade Antwerp access begins

THE PORT of Antwerp in Belgium has announced that work to deepen the navigation channel in the Western Scheldt has officially begun in a bid to offer greater port accessibility to larger containerships requiring 15 metres draught.

The current round of deepening is a continuation of the work on the Flemish side in 2007. "Apart from permitting wider tide windows, it is expected that containerships of greater draught will be able to sail downriver after the deepening work, so that vessels will be able to leave the port with a draught of 15 metres or more, depending on the ship," a Port of Antwerp newsletter said.

It noted that according to a treaty entitled "Development Sketch 2010 for the Scheldt Estuary" signed in December 2005 between the Netherlands and Flanders the navigation channel will be widened and deepened so as to increase the tide-independent navigation from the present draught of 11.9 metres to 13.1 metres.

It said that in nautical terms a keel clearance of 12.5 per cent has to be allowed on the Scheldt on the Dutch side. This means that under the terms of the treaty the Scheldt will be deepened to a level of 14.70 metres at average low spring tide.

At the moment, ships travelling upriver to Antwerp have a depth of up to 15.56 metres available to them. For sailing down river new regulations were drawn up by the Joint Nautical Authority, under which certain container carriers have up to 14.80 metres available (tide-dependent), depending on their speed and sailing characteristics.

(Source:www.schednet.com)