Fire Breaks Out at Antwerp Port, Dock Operations Halted

On the evening of 23rd June local time, a container fire incident occurred at the Port of Antwerp in Belgium. Operations at the container terminal were partially suspended as emergency services worked to eliminate the danger. As a precautionary measure, operations were halted for 12 hours and ships were evacuated.

Currently, the terminal has resumed operations.

The container held yellow phosphorus

At 7:30 PM on Sunday, the fire department received a report of a container fire at one of the port’s main container handling areas, the Deurganckdok terminal. The burning container was found to contain yellow phosphorus, a highly toxic chemical commonly used in fertilizers and other industrial applications. It is highly flammable when exposed to air and can cause burns if inhaled, potentially being lethal to humans even in small amounts.

As a precaution, both the MSC PSA European Terminal (MPET) and the DP World facility were evacuated. A ship docked at the port was also evacuated, and all ship traffic at Deurganckdok was temporarily halted.

The fire department reported that it was working in collaboration with chemical company BASF and the port authorities. About an hour later, they managed to contain the fire but continued efforts to secure the container. As a result, operations at MPET and Deurganckdok remained suspended.

As of 7:30 AM on Monday morning, the fire department reported that the container had been moved to a “safe location.” The port also announced that shipping at Deurganckdok could resume and added that they were doing everything possible to restart all activities as soon as possible.

The official statement from the Port of Antwerp-Bruges

There was a sudden fuel leak incident

On 6th June, port officials detected an oil spill in the water, temporarily closing parts of the port and disrupting ship traffic. They identified the oil as originating from refueling operations at the container terminal.

An investigation revealed that 20 vessels, including seagoing ships and barges, were contaminated at Deurganckdock. Oil was also found on the walls of the waterways and the terminal.

Recently, several shipping companies including WHL, OOCL, and YML have issued notices reaffirming heavy penalties for concealing hazardous cargo. WHL imposes the highest penalty: if there is any concealment, misreporting, or cargo misdeclaration of hazardous materials, the party involved must pay a penalty of USD 100,000/UNIT upon discovery.

This serves as a reminder to SHIPPERS and CONSIGNEE engaged in recent trade activities with the port to be aware of potential delays and impacts on cargo transport caused by this incident. It also emphasizes the critical importance of accurately declaring hazardous goods. Failure to do so could lead to serious accidents, substantial fines, and even criminal liability.