The new world’s largest lock was opened for business at the Port of Antwerp on Friday with the push of a button by King of Belgium.
The new Kieldrecht Lock, or Kieldrechtsluis, connects container terminals at the port’s Deurganck tidal dock with the Waastland Canal. It is the second lock in an area Antwerp known as Waasland Port, located on the left bank of the Scheldt. Until now the area was only accessible by the Kallo Lock, which has been in service since 1979, but has been outgrown in terms of capacity, size, and reliability.
The new lock was symbolically inaugurated with the Grimaldi Lines vessel, Grande Lagos.
A cargo ship crosses the world’s biggest lock “Kieldrechtsluis” during its inauguaration at Belgium’s port of Antwerp, June 10, 2016. Picture taken through a window. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir
The Kieldrecht lock measures 68m wide, 500m long and 17.8m deep, making it slightly larger than the nearby former world record holder, the Berendrecht Lock, also located at the port of Antwerp but in a different area. In fact the two locks, along with the new Neopanamax locks in the Panama Canal, are all the same type, using rolling gates to form watertight the lock chambers.
REUTERS/Francois Lenoir
Construction of the Kieldrecht Lock started in 2011 and was led by THV Waaslandsluis, a consortium between Jan De Nul NV, BAM Contractors, Herbosch-Kiere and Antwerpse Bouwwerken.
To build the lock, a total of 5,500,000 m3 of ground was excavated, 800,000m3 of concrete was poured and 55,000 tonnes of reinforced steel – three times the amount of steel than the Eiffel Tower – had to be installed. On top of that, another 12,000 tonnes of steel were processed in the lock’s 4 gates and 2 bascule bridges.
The Kieldrecht Lock is so big that it can even handle the world’s largest containerships, but preparing the port for future growth does not come cheap. The lock came with a price tag of €382 million (US$430 million).
By Ellen Francis (Reuters) – Interpol has issued red notices for the captain and owner of the ship that carried the chemicals which devastated Beirut in an explosion in August, killing 200...
By Chen Aizhu (Reuters) – China has issued 5 million tonnes of clean marine fuel export quotas in the first release for 2021, to five companies including a private refiner,...
By Andrea Shalal (Reuters) – The United States is urging European allies and private companies to halt work that could help build the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline and...
December 23, 2020
Total Views: 848
Sign Up Now for gCaptain Daily
Just enter your email and get hot news every morning
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.