Political row over change of name for Antwerp dock

A political row is brewing over the renaming of one of the docks in the port of Antwerp. The problem surrounds the new lock on the left bank of the Scheldt, one of the latest stages in the port’s expansion. The Deurgangk dock lock is 500m long and 68m wide and has a depth down to -17.8m, making it the largest in the world. The work started in 2011 and has employed 255 people daily since then. The cost of the project was €340 million. 

The dock is due to welcome its first ship in March, and now that it is about to come into service, the port authority and the Flemish government agree that it should have a new name. They have launched the campaign Sluis Zonder Naam (Lock Without a Name) to invite members of the public to suggest a name, with the prize of an evening cruise through the port.

Suggestions can be submitted via a website, and minutes later they will be “written” in water on a fountain which will be visible online, and also installed until 5 October on the square in front of Central Station in Antwerp, and later at the Waasland Shopping Centre in Sint-Niklaas. A jury will draw up a shortlist and the proponents of each name will then campaign for votes on social media.

But the campaign has provoked the ire of the heritage organisation Erfgoedgemeenschap Doel & Polder (EGDP), which says no new name is required.

In the past, explains spokesperson Karel Sterckx in an email, new names within the Waasland port on the left bank of the Scheldt were always selected by a panel made up of members of the municipality of Beveren, Beveren cultural council and the heritage organisation Hertogelijke Kring Land, which always chose names referring to the local area and its history.

“That the Port of Antwerp is simply ignoring this fact demonstrates not only a lack of respect for the area, but also that the port authority would rather see the local area disappear, along with everything that reminds people it ever existed.” The expansion of the port over the years has led to the disappearance of a number of villages in the area, the latest of which, Doel, is currently being occupied by activists.

EGDP is now asking the Port of Antwerp to “refrain from seeking needless controversy” and show the area the respect it deserves. It called on the municipality of Beveren to make its case to public works minister Ben Weyts and Antwerp port alderman Marc Van Peel.

Photo courtesy Arafi/Wikimedia