Oil Spill While Bunkering Containership Disrupts Port of Antwerp
The Port of Antwerp, one of the busiest ports in northern Europe, reported that shipping operations have been disrupted after an oil spill was detected overnight while a vessel was bunkering. While the authority was able to resume traffic on the Scheldt River later in the day on Friday, port operations, including the container terminal, remain suspended.
The leak happened during the nighttime hours but, according to local media reports, was not detected until this morning, when the port activated its response operations. Some reports are saying the leak happened while the Liberian-registered MSC Denmark VI (5,762 TEU) was bunkering. Local media is saying they detected a crack in the hull, possibly a rust spot, and the hole has now been corrected, but the leak occurred. It is unclear how much fuel leaked into the water, but the spill was reportedly affecting locks three kilometers (nearly two miles) downstream from the port.
Operations at the Zandvliet and Berendrecht locks were suspended due to the slick, and the Scheldt was closed beyond buoy 80. The spill was also impacting the Deurganck Dock and Europaterminal.
The port authority was conducting an aerial survey and working to contain the spill. It said the priority was preventing further spread and that it would be monitoring sensitive areas around the port.
The containerships MSC Denmark V, MSC Monterey V, and MSC Sara Elena were all in the vicinity of the spill, as well as several inland cargo ships. Across the slip, the CMA CGM Paranagua, MSC Anna Maria, and MSC Anshika VI were also berthed.
The Scheldt was reopened on Friday afternoon while specialized vessels were engaged in the cleanup around the terminal. The port said it was trying to minimize the disruption, but no timing was available for when operations at Duerganck Dock would resume.
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There was a similar incident in the same slip at the port in June 2024. Port officials at the time said they expected it would take several days to recover the oil and then to wash down the hulls of the vessels and the walls of the berth, before operations could resume.
Antwerp is Europe’s second busiest port, and the Duerganck is home to the single largest container terminal in Europe, operated by PSA. Owned jointly by PSA and MSC’s TIL, the terminal has nine berths and over 12,000 feet of quay. It was relocated nearly a decade ago to this location and expanded to have an annual throughput capacity of 9 million TEU.