Industrial Action in Belgium Affecting Shipments

Dear Customer,

We would like to personally update you on the current situation in Belgium that may affect your shipments.

Since Sunday, 5 October 2025, the Professional Association of Pilots (BVL/Loodsenfront) has been taking industrial action in response to recent federal pension reforms. As a result, Flemish pilotage services are operating only during regular office hours, from 08:00 to 17:00. Despite ongoing efforts to coordinate shipping movements as efficiently as possible, we unfortunately expect serious delays to vessel arrivals and departures at the ports of Antwerp and Zeebrugge in the coming days.

In addition, a national strike in Belgium has been announced for Tuesday, 14 October. This will further affect operations, as staffing levels at the Zandvliet Traffic Control Centre will be reduced from 13 October at 19:30 until 15 October at 07:30. During this time, all maritime traffic — including inland navigation — to and from the Port of Antwerp will be temporarily suspended.

At Neele-Vat, we fully understand how important reliability and clear communication are to your operations. Our teams are closely monitoring the situation and are in direct contact with our partners to limit the impact on your supply chain as much as possible. While we do everything we can to keep your cargo moving, some delays may unfortunately be unavoidable.

If any contingency plans are put into place, we will share these with you immediately through our regular communication channels. Should you wish to receive direct updates on changes to your cargo’s ETA, please let your Neele-Vat contact person know.

We sincerely regret the inconvenience this may cause and truly appreciate your patience and understanding during this challenging period.

Kind regards,
The Neele-Vat Team
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