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Belgium Flag of Belgium

Pre Arrival:  ISPS
Arrival:  DS Pilots
Communications:  Pre-Arrival | VTS/Radar
Security:  Regs
Local Info:  Time | Holidays
Shore:  Customs
Misc:  Authority
General Information for Belgium
Geo-political:
Capital City: Brussels. 50° 50.00′ N, 004° 20.00′ E
Nationality: (noun) Belgian(s), (adjective) Belgian.
Population: 11,720,716 (July 2020).
Communications:
International Direct Dial Code: 32.
Number of Internal Airports: 41 (2013).
Major Languages Spoken: Dutch 60% (official), French 40% (official) and German less than 1% (official).
Economy:
Currency: 1 Euro (EUR) of 100 Cents.
Exchange Rates:  (as of November 2020)
USD 1.00 = EUR 0.86
EUR 1.00 = USD 1.16
Exchange rates under licence from XE.com
Main Industries: Engineering, metal products, motor vehicle assembly, transportation equipment, scientific instruments, processed food, beverages, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, base metals, textiles, glass and petroleum.
Agricultural Products: Sugar beets, fresh vegetables, fruits, grain, tobacco, beef, veal, pork and milk.
Imports: Raw materials, machinery, equipment, chemicals, raw diamonds, pharmaceuticals, foodstuffs, transportation equipment and oil products.
Exports: Chemicals, machinery, equipment, finished diamonds, metals, metal products and foodstuffs.
Commodities: Crude: Imports 687,600 bbl/d. Products: Production 731,700 bbl/d. Exports 680,800 bbl/d. Imports 601,400 bbl/d. LNG: Exports 736,200,000 cu.m.. Imports 18,090,000,000 cu.m..
Environment:
Territorial Sea: 12 n.m.
Contiguous Zone: Contiguous Zone: 24 n.m. Continental Shelf: median line with neighbors. Exclusive Economic Zone: geographic coordinates define outer limit.
Coastline Extent: 66 km.
Climate: Temperate; mild winters, cool summers; rainy, humid, cloudy.
Natural Resources: Construction materials, silica sand, carbonates and arable land.
Natural Hazards: Flooding is a threat along rivers and in areas of reclaimed coastal land, protected from the sea by concrete dikes.
Terrain: Flat coastal plains in northwest, central rolling hills, rugged mountains of Ardennes Forest in southeast.
Average Temperatures: 
Month High Low
January 4° C -2° C
June 21° C 10° C
September 19° C 10° C
ISPS COMPLIANCE:  Federal Port Security Committee. T: +32 (2) 277 3500. Mobile: +32 475 818 465. F: +32 (2) 277 4051. [email protected]
Reporting Point: F: +32 (2) 579 6883. [email protected]
DEEP SEA PILOTAGE:  Vessels required to use the mandatory route for tankers from North Hinder to the German Bight refer to the IMO Resolution A.486 (xii), adopted on the 19 November 1981, concerning the recommendation on the use of adequately qualified Deep Sea Pilots in the North Sea, English Channel and Skagerrak.
Also see Rotterdam, Brixham and Cherbourg.
PRE-ARRIVAL INFORMATION:  European Council Directive 2002/59/EC:  European Council Directive 2002/59/EC (as amended) relates to vessels greater than 300 g.t., and any vessel carrying dangerous or polluting goods bound for or leaving EU ports. Such vessels should report to the relevant port authority at least 24 hours in advance.
Port State Notifications:  Under European Union (EU) Directive 2009/16/EC, the EU has introduced a reporting system to be complied with for all vessels arriving/leaving a port or anchorage within the EU Region.
The operator, Agent or Master shall notify, 72 hours before arrival in port, if vessels are eligible for an expanded inspection (3 days pre-arrival notification).
Vessels subject to expanded inspections are: 
  1. all vessels with a high risk profile
  2. any passenger vessel, oil tanker, gas or chemical tanker or bulk carrier, older than 12 years of age.
Directive 2009/16/EC also recalls the obligation to notify, 24 hours before arrival, for vessels bound for a Member States port (24-hour pre-arrival notifications) or at the latest at the time the vessel leaves the previous port, if the voyage time is less than 24 hours, or if the port of call is not known or changed during the voyage, as soon as this information is available. This obligation falls under Directive 2002/59/EC establishing a common vessel traffic monitoring and information system throughout European Community (EC) waters.
Reports shall be sent by the Agent to the competent Port Authority. Failure to report the requested information is an offence and may also cause a vessel to be targeted for inspection.
River Information System:  The EuRIS platform is the result of a cooperation between 13 European countries. The system gathers national information and services in one user portal. Participating countries are Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Romania, Serbia and Slovakia.
EuRIS provides skippers, vessel owners or logistic operators with relevant information for planning and undertaking voyages on main European waterways. Users can register a vessel and follow its route, receive messages when vessel passes certain points on the network and request information on vessels, voyages and cargo.
EuRIS presents all waterway and traffic related information on handy maps or in tables, with:
  1. a real-time traffic image
  2. position information of authorized vessels
  3. Notices to Skippers
  4. actual water levels, discharges, bridge clearance, water depth
  5. information about the fairways, bridges, locks, berths, terminals
  6. the operating times of locks and bridges
  7. voyage planner
  8. travel duration and expected arrival times.
Access to EuRIS is available at www.eurisportal.eu
Furthermore, details of national systems can also be found at the following websites:
Country Website
Austria www.doris.bmk.gv.at
Belgium www.visuris.be
voies-hydrauliques.wallonie.be
www.vts-scheldt.net
Bulgaria www.bulris.bg
Croatia vodniputovi.hr
Czech Republic www.lavdis.cz
France www.vnf.fr
Germany www.elwis.de
Hungary www.pannonris.hu
Netherlands www.vaarweginformatie.nl
Poland www.rzgw.szczecin.pl
Romania www.roris.ro
Serbia nts.risserbia.rs
Slovakia nts.slovris.sk
Switzerland www.port-of-switzerland.ch
www.elwis.de
Reporting:  Electronic reporting enables electronic data interchange for reporting purposes between vessels and competent authorities in inland navigation. The goal is to avoid multiple reporting of skippers to competent authorities and to limit the provision of the same data related to a voyage to different authorities and/or commercial parties, and thus to reduce the administrative workload for skippers and inland waterway managers.
International standards and procedures for the interchange of electronic messages are in force. Public authorities and other parties concerned (ship owners, skippers, shippers, terminals, ports) shall exchange data in conformity with these standards and rules.
Electronic reporting is supported in many countries, until recently mainly for supporting traffic management. EuRIS now enables the orderly sharing of information with both public and private parties (always with consent of the ship owner).
Various platforms are also available to waterway users to electronically fulfil reporting requirements of the authorities: 
  1. BICS: www.bics.nl Enables electronic reporting via the BICS application, widely applicable in the Netherlands, Belgium or Germany, on the Rhine and the Mosel.
  2. CEERIS: www.ceeris.eu Central & Eastern European Reporting Information System (CEERIS) covers most of the Danube and the Czech Elbe, enabling electronic reporting in the CEERIS partner countries Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Serbia and Slovakia.
  3. eRIBa: eriba-platform.be Allows users to report digitally more easily on all waterways in Flanders and on the Western Scheldt (including the Dutch side of the North Sea Port).
  4. VELI: www.vnf.fr/veli/Login.html Allows for reporting before commencing any journey on all French waterways.
Note:  In order to use CEERIS for reporting, either a successfully claimed vessel (privacy class 9 with valid ENI) or granted reporting rights for a vessel in EuRIS are required.
Inland ECDIS:  Making available reliable and up-to-date electronic charts which meet European standards. ECDIS contributes to the safety and efficiency of inland navigation and therefore the protection of the environment. Moreover, it reduces the workload of the skipper compared to traditional navigation and information methods.
Notices to Skippers:  To enable an automatic translation of the most important contents of messages in all languages of the participating countries, with a harmonised structure of data to enable integration of messages in the voyage planning systems. Also a standard for height of tide information will be made available. This information will be made available to the inland barge community, among other things by use of web applications.
VTS/RADAR:  West European Tanker Reporting System (WETREP):  Western European PSSA Mandatory reporting for all tankers carrying heavy grade oils.
With effect from 1 July 2005, the West European Tanker Reporting System (WETREP) comes into force in the Western European Particularly Sensitive Sea Area (PSSA).
Ships required to participate in the mandatory ship reporting system WETREP: Every kind of oil tanker of more than 600 d.w. tonnes, carrying a cargo of:
  1. heavy crude oil, meaning crude oils with a density at 15°C of higher than 900 kg./cu.m.
  2. heavy fuel oils, meaning fuel oils with a density at 15°C of higher than 900 kg./cu.m., or a kinematic viscosity at 50°C of higher than 180 sq.mm./sec.
  3. bitumen and tar and their emulsions.
Pursuant to SOLAS, mandatory ship reporting system WETREP does not apply to any warship, naval auxiliary or other vessel owned or operated by a contracting government and used, for the time being, only on government non-commercial service.
The geographical coverage of the system, the content of the report and the time at which and place from where it should be sent are all detailed in IMO Circular SN/Circ. 242.
Vessel Traffic Service Scheldemond:  (VTS-SM) reporting compulsory for all commercial traffic when entering the VTS Scheldemond Traffic Areas both inward/outwardbound. Use Dutch or English language only. Compulsory for all vessels to maintain a continuous listening watch on the appropriate VHF Channel for the traffic area (including vessels at anchor).
Each Traffic Area provides traffic link-up, traffic information, traffic instructions, pilotage advice and recommendations. Additional traffic information, radar information and harbour information can be obtained on the specified VHF Channel.
REGULATIONS:  EU MRV:  The EU MRV (Monitoring, Reporting, Verification) regulation entered into force on 1 July 2015, and it requires ship owners and operators to annually monitor, report and verify CO 2 emissions for vessels larger than 5,000 g.t. calling at any EU and EFTA (Norway and Iceland) port. Data collection takes place on a per voyage basis and started 1 January 2018.
The reported CO 2 emissions, together with additional data, are to be verified by independent certified bodies and sent to a central database managed by the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA). The aggregated ship emission and efficiency data will be published by the EC by 30 June 2019 and then every consecutive year.
Ship owners and operators shall monitor the CO 2 emissions of their vessels per voyage conducted into, between and out of EU (and EFTA) ports. A voyage is defined as any movement of a ship that originates from, or terminates in, a port of call (EU port) and that serves the purpose of transporting passengers or cargo for commercial purposes.
HOLIDAYS:  1 January (New Year's Day); Easter Monday; 1 May (Labour Day); 11 July (Flemish Community Holiday only in Flanders); 15 August (Assumption of Mary); 27 September (French Community Holiday only in Wallonia (not a public holiday)); 1 November (All Saints); 2 November (All Souls Day (not a public holiday)); 11 November (Armistice Day); 15 November (Dynasty Day and Day of German-speaking Community only in areas of the German-speaking Community); 24 December (Christmas Eve); 25 December (Christmas Day).
CUSTOMS:  Sunny Online Duty-Free Shop:  Sunny is an online duty-free shop for seafarers with delivery available to a number of ports in Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands. Access is available to registered users at shop.sunny.eu
Ports covered are: 
  1. Belgium: Bruges, Brussels, Ghent, Ostend, Antwerp
  2. Netherlands: Amsterdam, Dordrecht, Flushing, Ijmuiden, Moerdijk, Sas van Gent, Sluiskil, Terneuzen, Velsen, Rotterdam, Delfzijl, Eemshaven, Harlingen
  3. Germany: Brake, Bremen, Bremerhaven, Brunsbuettel, Cuxhaven, Hamburg, Nordenham, Stade, Wilhelmshaven, Emden, Kiel, Luebeck, Rostock, Wismar.
Delivery schedule available at shop.sunny.eu/i/ports-and-delivery-schedule
AUTHORITY:  Federal Public Services for Transport, Directorate - Maritime Transport, City Atrium, Rue de Progres 56, 1210 Brussels, Belgium. T: +32 (2) 277 3111. [email protected] mobilit.belgium.be