North Sea Port takes further action to keep port operational along Ghent and Zealand side
North Sea Port says it is still entirely operational, and a number of actions and measures mean that this is happening safely. Please find below an update concerning the measures taken for border work and activities in North Sea Port.
Day after day, the Belgian and Dutch governments are tightening measures to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus, and North Sea Port is following these measures closely. At the same time, North Sea Port is taking further action to keep the port operational along the Ghent and Zealand side, wherever it is possible and safe to do so.
The Belgian authorities are carrying out active checks and various border crossings are closed. To prevent border workers in vital sectors and with crucial jobs (i.e. key workers) from being delayed at checkpoints, a vignette was introduced on 22 March. The vignette should prevent these border workers from being delayed at the border and these are the only people who are allowed to use it.
This vignette was introduced following consultation between the Dutch Minister of Justice and Security, Grapperhaus, and the Dutch Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations, Knops, along with their Belgian colleague, the Minister for Security and the Interior, De Crem.
The various vignettes can be downloaded from the Crisis Centre website. How they work is also stated on the vignettes.
Various current activities were stopped in the Ghent section of North Sea Port: R4: the rebuilding work between Melle and Merelbeke and Vliegtuiglaan and street lighting.
Every day, Max Mobiel enables up to 1500 employees to travel to companies in the Ghent section of the port region, but on Thursday 19 March this service was stopped. The North Sea Port port region and De Fietsambassade Gent (City of Ghent) are making 100 bicycles available that companies can rent to their employees to take them to work.
This solution is a collaboration between North Sea Port, Voka Oost-Vlaanderen, Portiz and the City of Ghent and applies to both the Ghent and the Zealand sections of the port.
All Seamen’s institutes in North Sea Port are now closed. Seamen’s institute Mission to Seafarers in Vlissingen, as well as Stella Maris in Ghent, began a service for seafarers (subject to strict conditions) that would enable them to contact friends and family using data cards.
