Autumn storm disrupts shipping

Last night’s autumn storm had an impact on shipping traffic heading towards Antwerp. Due to the bad weather, pilotage services at sea were largely suspended, reports the Port Authority. The Wandelaar pilotage station was shut down for the pilotage of smaller ships. Only ships that can still be served by swath vessels were able to pass through. Enquiries at Port+ this morning revealed that about 20 vessels were waiting in the deep water off Wandelaar and Steenbank for permission to pass through. A dozen of those ships are destined for Antwerp, the others are sailing to Ghent, Terneuzen and Flushing.