Oil Spill Halts All Shipping Traffic at Europe's 2nd-Largest Port
Authorities confirmed in an official statement that the incident took place Thursday at the Deurganck Dock, involving the container ship MSC Denmark VI. While the leak has since been contained, a substantial volume of oil has already contaminated both the Scheldt River and the surrounding dock area.
In response, port officials have suspended all vessel movements indefinitely — no ships are currently permitted to enter or depart — with authorities cautioning that the length of the disruption remains unknown.
An aircraft has been deployed to survey the full extent of the spill from the air, as response teams on the ground press ahead with containment and cleanup operations. Officials have also raised concerns over potential ecological damage to protected natural areas in the vicinity.
"The impact is significant and it is unclear how long this will last... We are doing everything possible to minimize both operational and ecological damage," the port said.
The scale of the shutdown carries significant economic weight. The Port of Antwerp-Bruges, ranked the second-largest port in Europe, processes approximately 290 million tons of cargo each year and maintains trade links with more than 800 destinations across the globe — making every hour of disruption a mounting cost for regional and international supply chains alike.
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