Test runs in New Lock Terneuzen will start on Thursday, 8 May

On 8 May, the inland vessel ‘Marlea’ will pass through the New Lock in Terneuzen. The passage of the Marlea is the first in a series of trial runs that will be carried out in the coming weeks. This marks another important milestone for this enormous construction project in North Sea Port.

The New Lock in Terneuzen was officially opened by the kings of the Netherlands and Belgium in October last year. Now the time has come to test the New Lock. The nautical parties (boatmen, skippers, pilots, towage services and operators) want to gain experience under controlled conditions in operating the New Lock, navigating and guiding ships through the lock chamber and working on the lock platform.

The trial runs will start with ships up to 110 metres in length. These will be followed by ships up to 150 metres in length. In addition to the dimensions, the number of ships that can be locked through simultaneously will also increase. After the first test runs with such smaller ships, test runs with larger ships will follow. Finally, seagoing ships with a length of up to 265 metres, a width of up to 37 metres and a draught of up to 12.5 metres will follow. If the test runs are completed satisfactorily, the lock can be fully utilised. This is expected to happen during the summer.

The New Lock is 427 metres long, 55 metres wide and 16.44 metres deep. The lock is suitable for ships up to 366 metres long, 49 metres wide and 14.5 metres deep. The New Lock has been built within the existing lock complex in Terneuzen, in the North Sea Port area.

The New Lock provides better, greater access and smoother traffic flow for shipping travelling from the North Sea and the Western Scheldt to the Canal from Ghent to Terneuzen and beyond. The lock is part of the shipping route between Rotterdam and Paris. The number of ships using the North Sea locks, the lock complex at Terneuzen, is increasing. The size of the ships is also growing. The New Lock is just as large as the new locks in the Panama Canal and is therefore prepared for the global increase in the scale of shipping.

With this second sea lock, located next to the Westsluis for maritime shipping, North Sea Port can also guarantee permanent access for maritime shipping to the port area behind the lock. This provides an alternative during, for example, maintenance of a sea lock, ensuring that companies continue to be supplied. In addition, this larger lock can be used for drainage. This offers companies more certainty for sailing in and out with larger seagoing vessels. 

North Sea Port makes no secret of the fact that it would very much like to see a deeper channel with a draught for ships of 14.5 to 15 metres, extending to the bulk cargo port in Terneuzen. This is about two kilometres beyond the lock and technically feasible to deepen in the short term. This would mean that seagoing vessels would no longer have to lighten their load on the Westerschelde in order to pass through the Nieuwe Sluis, but could do so more safely and cheaply at this port.

The port authority is also looking forward to sailing 43-metre-wide ships from the Nieuwe Sluis to the Kluizendok and Rodenhuizedok in Ghent as soon as possible. For a ship carrying dry or liquid bulk, this will result in cost savings of several hundred thousand euros.

Images: Nieuwe Sluis Terneuzen Project

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