Two kings’ feast: New Lock Terneuzen in North Sea Port officially opened

The New Lock (Nieuwe Sluis) Terneuzen in North Sea Port has been officially inaugurated, marking an important milestone for the Netherlands, Belgium, and Flanders.

On October 11, 2024, His Majesty King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands and His Majesty King Philippe, King of the Belgians, jointly opened the lock structure.

The two kings performed the official opening ceremony on the Z9, an electric ship. A parade of patrol, tug and pilot boats accompanied the ceremony.

On the occasion, the New Lock housed a seagoing vessel for the first time, the M/V Bregaglia. With the departure of the 240-meter-long and 38-meter-wide ocean-going vessel towards ArcelorMittal, the New Lock was officially inaugurated.

Greater maritime access

The joint opening by the two kings is said to underline the cross-border importance of the New Lock in Terneuzen. The New Lock will add a second, larger sea lock to the North Sea Port port area. It will provide better access and a faster flow for shipping from the North Sea to the Western Scheldt and the Ghent Canal to Terneuzen and enable the transit of larger vessels.

What is more, The New Lock is expected to generate new economic activities in the Zeelandic-Flanders and Flanders regions and better exploit the economic potential of the Canal Zone in both.

Being 427 meters long, 55 meters wide and 16.44 meters deep, the lock has become one of the largest in the world, similar in size to the locks in Antwerp, Amsterdam and Panama. 

It has increased the capacity of the North Sea locks: more ships can pass through the three locks at the same time, reducing waiting time for seagoing and inland vessels.

Cooperation between the Netherlands and Flanders

The New Lock was commissioned by the Flemish-Dutch Scheldt Commission, a partnership between the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management and the Flemish Department of Mobility and Public Works.

Construction of the New Lock started in 2017 within the existing lock complex in Terneuzen, in the North Sea Port port area. The Middle Lock, in use since 1910, made way for the New Lock.

In 2023, 56,000 ships passed through this lock complex. This number is expected to grow to 96,000 in 2040.

Apart from vessels passing through the complex, the lock complex is an important access route for road traffic and the New Lock is part of the primary flood defence system.

“The opening of the New Lock in Terneuzen is not an endpoint but the beginning of the further economic development of the cross-border port area North Sea Port,” North Sea Port said.

Back in 2017, the Dutch-Belgian consortium Sassevaart won the design and construction contract, as well as a two-year maintenance contract for this enormous project. About 10 million cubic meters of material was required to be dredged and work started in late 2018.