It is very difficult for the manager of the navigable waterways to estimate exactly how many ships are still waiting on Saturday morning. “But work continued all night to allow ships to pass,” said spokeswoman Liliane Stinissen of De Vlaamse Waterweg.
“Even today, we are still working very hard to provide passage to the locks.”
Once underway, skippers can continue their journey to the next lock, and so on. The affected ships are therefore on their way, but not yet immediately at their destination. This could, for example, take a few more days.
An agreement was reached between the Flemish government and the socialist and liberal government unions on Friday evening. Earlier this week there was already an agreement with the Christian union. In recent days, hundreds of ships have been stuck due to actions by the lock keepers out of dissatisfaction with the civil service statute. The locks were operated again on Friday evening, pending an agreement.