Donatini, L.

Meersschaut, Y.

Van Zwijnsvoorde, T.

Vantorre, M.

Open Marine Archive

 117 
Inland vessels at sea as efficient hinterland connection for Belgian 
Seaports: Current practice and future developments 
Van Zwijnsvoorde Thibaut
1
, Donatini Luca
1
, Vantorre Marc
1
 and Meersschaut Youri
2 
1 
Ghent University, Technologiepark 904, 9052 Gent, Belgium 
 E-mail: thibaut.vanzwijnsvoorde@ugent.be 
2
  Martieme Toegang, Thonetlaan 102 bus 2, 2050 Antwerpen, Belgium  
 
An essential aspect for the growth of coastal (cargo) ports is a strong hinterland connection. This 
can be realised through train, road and/or water transport. As the Belgian roads are getting more and 
more congested, one needs to look at alternative connections. Inland vessels are able to transport 
big cargo volumes, more than 5000 tons in a single vessel, easily throughout the whole of Europe. 
Bottleneck here is the size of inland waterways connecting for example Zeebrugge and the hinterland 
which limits the cargo capacity to 1500 tons. For this reason, it is from an economical viewpoint 
extremely interesting to perform a short sea-journey to gain access to the mount of the Western 
Scheldt and, hence, the European inland waterways network. 
 
The vessels need to cross the Dutch territorial sea and inland waters, but from a legal point of view 
perform a non-international sea voyage in case their ports of departure and arrival are both located 
in Belgium. The legal framework for these voyages is provided by the Royal Decree of 2007 [1], in 
which Ghent University played a key role by developing sea-keeping requirements. The behaviour of 
inland vessels at sea is analysed by executing a probabilistic risk analysis [2], ensuring the safety of 
the inland vessel on sea by constraining the risk. Based on this practice, several inland vessels, often 
indicated as ‘estuary vessels’ are certified to perform sea voyages between two Belgian ports, up to 
certain significant wave heights. 
 
Recently, Ghent University has been involved in a project which focusses on the future developments 
in estuary traffic. In the framework of this study, several aspects of the sea-keeping study have been 
reviewed. As a start, the wave climate in front of the Belgian coast has been assessed, using spectral 
wave analysis (SWAN, performed by Flanders Hydraulics Research). It has been concluded that the 
wave climate, expressed as significant wave height, becomes less severe towards the mouth of the 
Western Scheldt. More realistic ship responses can thus be achieved by considering multiple wave 
spectra along the trajectory, instead of only using (measured) wave data at Bol Van Heist (BVH), which 
can be considered as a conservative approximation. 
 
SWAN has also been used to model possible developments, within ‘Vlaamse Baaien’ (predecessor of 
‘Kustvisie’). This involves creating an opening in the eastern harbour dam of Zeebrugge, shortening 
the path and avoiding severe wave climates in front of the harbour mouth. The effect of wave blocking 
constructions in front of the Belgian coast, lowering the wave climate behind these structures, is also 
investigated. Based on these numerical wave spectra, the beneficial effect on the ship responses is 
mapped. 
 
Part of the short term study is the possible exemption of the need for a risk-analysis for inland vessels, 
sailing in favourable wave conditions, which would lower the threshold for ship-owners. The upper 
limit for the deterministic exemption is set at 1.2 m significant wave height, measured at BVH. These 
deterministic limits concerning water intake are developed based on an extensive systematic study, 
considering four design inland vessels, which have been selected based on data from more than 500 
inland vessels. 
 
References 
 
[1] Belgisch Staatsblad (2007), 'Koninklijk besluit betreffende binnenschepen die ook voor niet-
internationale zeereizen worden gebruikt', BS, 16.03.2007, N. 2007 – 1187, p. 14699-14711 
[2] Vantorre, M; Eloot, K; Delefortrie, G, 'Probabilistic regulation for inland vessels operating at sea 
as an alternative hinterland connection for coastal harbours', European Journal of Transport and 
Infrastructure Research, Issue 12(1), 2012. 
 
Keywords: inland vessels; Vlaamse Baaien; Kustvisie; coastal ports; hinterland connection; Royal 
Decree 2007; risk analysis; wave spectra  


Inland vessels at sea as efficient hinterland connection for Belgian Seaports: current practice and future developments

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Inland vessels at sea as efficient hinterland connection for Belgian Seaports: current practice and future developments

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