According to a new update of the situation, four ships are currently waiting to leave the port in Zeebrugge, 42 in Antwerp and seven in Ghent. There are now 92 ships waiting on the North Sea, five of which are heading towards Zeebrugge, 72 towards Antwerp and fifteen towards Ghent. In addition, there are 58 ships sailing to and from the ports, with a Flemish or Dutch pilot on board, it says.
A few months ago there was already a kind of provisional agreement between the pilotage industry and the federal government about the pilots’ pensions. Both parties seem to interpret that agreement differently. The pilots feel targeted more than other professions in the nautical chain.
Not indexing the higher pensions could catapult them from 2,400 euros to 1,900 euros. The fact that the second pillar of pilot pensions is not treated equally with wage earners in other systems (no heavy professions, ed.) also irritates the captains.