In the first quarter of 2025, the container crossing of Port of Antwerp-Bruges had an increase of 4.6% in Tonnage and 4.5% in TEU compared to the same period in 2024. Nice figures, which may also explain the great congestion to various Antwerp quays. Despite the introduction of time slots, drivers lose many hours day after day when loading and unloading containers.
On which quays are the problems greatest? “Currently, that is mainly Kaai 913 for my company,” says Kurt van Gijsel of SL-Logistics. “But actually it is everywhere. On other quays, such as 869, 1742 and 1700, you are currently not driving outside in an hour. On the contrary.”
“There has indeed been a lot of congestion on Kaai 913 for a while,” adds Stephan Roosens from Roosens Transport. “But indeed, among other things, there are problems, among others, problems. There are problems. It does change from week to week, sometimes even from day to day. My drivers lose one or two hours, sometimes three hours, but luckily the latter does not happen so often.”
Shipping companies do slide with boats from one quay to the other to reduce waiting times. As a result, the problems reduce on quay A, but they increase again on quay B, and so on. “And that’s how they are actually moving the problem,” says K. van Gijsel.
Larger ships
An important part of the problems is the size of the ships that moor to the quays. “You used to have ships from 6,000 to a maximum of 10,000 Teu, now that is sometimes more than double,” confirms K. van Gijsel. “But if such a large boat dies, it must be unloaded and loaded as quickly as possible, because standing still costs a lot of money for such a ship. But all those containers are then on that square at that terminal. And to avoid costs for ‘demurrage’ and ‘detention’ of those containers, they should not be picked up as quickly as possible. Can remove in that free period of three or four days, then sometimes very high costs are added. “
S. Roosens: “Certain customers have many ‘free time’, other customers less. It is therefore that you have to be on those terminals at the same time. Those closings are all closed together, because there is so little ‘free time’. That applies to both importing and exports. Moreover, those terminals are full and the operators, because there is no time with shift work. They have to pick up container, then give the right one and then put the next one again. “
K. van Gijsel: “If you want to load the lower one with containers who are stacked three high, the operator must indeed first shift two containers to be able to give your container. And it is already crowded. That takes a lot of time.”
More and larger terminals
In short, that capacity must increase. S. Roosens: “Yes, indeed. The quays should increase, and they also try to create capacity, but there is not much margin. There is no room here on the left bank. On the right bank just of the same. How we can solve this problem? No idea.”
K. van Gijsel: “Everywhere throughout Antwerp there are waiting times and everywhere there is a shortage. The result is that we also have to place a lot of export containers in temporary storage, because that Yard Opening has recently been shortened. So we have to wait until the Yard opening opens onto the terminal and we can bring those exportcontainers in.”
S. Roosens: “Indeed, nowadays you can only deliver your container five days in advance. But the problem is: those boats are constantly sliding. And if that ship has moved, you will not get a Yard opening and you cannot enter.”
Nonsensical time slots
Many terminals have meanwhile introduced time slots to better organize and facilitate trucks access. At least that is the intention. “In fact, those time slots are no longer useful,” says S. Roosens. “The goal is that you would be helped immediately and can drive back immediately. But that is not the case now. Because with or without a time slot, it is not your turn within the hour. So they can better stop that system of time slots. We have to sit down and wait, the system makes no sense.”
“Come and see at my office how intensive it is to book that time slot,” responds K. van Gijsel. “I have had to hire an employee extra in the office, purely to be busy with those time slots. So to speak, he does nothing but click, the whole day! You have to book those slots for two to three days in advance. But how are you going to gamble, hey. For example, we load in Ghent at eight o’clock and then can go in Antwerp, for example, a time slot. And then there are no slots available.
Since 12 May you also have to pay to book a time slot on Kaaien 1700, 913 and 869. “That costs 14 euros at all three,” says K. van Gijsel. “In Rotterdam you also have to pay for the ditches. It costs 16 euros there. But there you get an invoice that you can pay on 30 days every month. In Antwerp, on the other hand, you have to make sufficient resources available via the Portimundo system. There is no money on it, you cannot purchase any slots. I now pay to give you an idea, as a carrier with 20,000 euros per month. Improves us at Kaai 1700, so that is just a revenue model for them.
Calculate waiting times? Or not?
What about calculating the costs of those waiting times? “That is not obvious, but we must be able to cover those costs a bit,” says S. Roosens. “In a working group with various transport companies, we are currently looking at how we can tackle that together.”
“In the tank containers, in which we are active ourselves, you can charge those waiting hours, in the box containers that will not work,” says K. van Gijsel. “With Belgian drivers you can’t work in that sector, you tear your pants on. With a cost of 31 to 32 euros net per hour, your profit from 2 to 3% is quickly gone if you can’t calculate that waiting time.”
Consultation in working group with three federations
The frustration about the traffic jams on various quays in the port of Antwerp grew so strongly in recent months that a working group was founded from the transport companies. He regularly comes together to discuss the challenges, to devise solutions and jointly consult with the shipping companies and the managers of the quays. The three federations Febetra, TLV and UPTR are also participating in this and will soon come out with a message.
“Three good drivers stopped, out of frustration”
Also for the drivers, the waiting times for the various quays are of course particularly annoying. “Moreover, there are no toilets or other facilities,” Kurt van Gijsel responds. “You are sometimes waiting there for three hours or more, but you can’t go to the toilet. That is almost degrading. In the past five years three good drivers have stopped with that container transport. Simply because of the frustration about working conditions.”
A day in the life of your own rider
Here is a scene from the daily life of Benoit Feraut, his own rider who often works in the port. She says a lot about the time that is lost at certain terminals: “I am at Gate at 1742 and the file extends to parking lot B, almost 700 meters away. From the moment you pass the gate, it takes two hours before you arrive at the blocks and then it can take another 30 to 40 minutes before you can pick up a container and possibly to deliver it, as or again”
