I know there is a version of this feature on the Forum but I thought it would be clearer if there was a complete overview of the photographic locations on the main website.

Zeebrugge isn’t that easy to access as Oostende. There is much more security and there are a lot more places that are closed to the public. Things have certainly changed for the worse (from a shipping enthusiasts point of view that is) when Maersk opened the new APM terminal in the Koning Alberth II dok. This is where cruise ships used to dock and there were a lot of opportunities to get very close.

This is an overview of the APM terminal in 2006. You can see only one part of the dock is in use but I believe the other side is currently under construction. Picture taken from the Superfast when entering the port.

How it used to be, the Golden Princess in the Koning Albert II dock in June 2005.

After this piece of history, I’ll give an overview of the harbour first.

Image © Google Earth, NASA, Cnes Spot Image and Tele Atlas

Now, Zeebrugge is a very complex port, which consists of many terminals which have a specific function. There are two big parts, separated by the bright green line. The first part is the “Voorhaven”, where there are tides and the “Achterhaven” which is closed of from the sea by two locks: the Pierre Vandamme Sluis and another one of which I don’t know the official name. The Pierre Vandamme Sluis is the biggest (nearly 500m long) and is used by nearly all ships.

For us, ferry enthusiasts, the “Voorhaven” is the most interesting so I’ll kick off with that one.

DE VOORHAVEN

There are only a few terminals that are visible from places which are open to the public. These are the cruise ships quay and the dark blue area next to the ferries dock. Almost all other spaces are visible but views are always obstructed.

These accessible places will be the main core of the feature.

Now to understand the map: ferries are in yellow, cruise ships are in red, container ships are in green. Viewpoints are in blue and tramway stops are in purple.

First of all the ferries and the cruise ships. P&O and Superfast (until September at least) are on the left, Cobelfret is on the right. Cruise ships are mostly on the lower red line but smaller vessels sometimes berth on the upper one (example: Saga Cruises). However there will be a new mobile cruise terminal in the autumn so I expect all future cruise calls to berth there. Catching their departures and arrivals is possible from the right viewpoint which oversees the harbour entrance. For pictures: a zoom lens is required (± 200 mm).

This viewpoint is a sidewalk of one of the bridges over the Pierre Vandamme Sluis. It’s safe to stand there although there may be some bicycles or mopeds passing but the sidewalk is wide enough. The bridge also shakes about a bit then traffic crosses it and if you’ve got bad luck, it can be raised to let ships in and out of the lock. When that happens, there is another place a where they have put some picnic tables although you have to stand on them to see above the fence they’ve put around it.

A few pictures of the viewpoints themselves:

The first viewpoint, with the picnic tables.

The bridges over the Pierre Vandamme Sluis. The walkway is on the left.

A few pictures of ships visible from there:

P&O’s Aurora at the cruise quay.

This terminal is also used sometimes by Roro ships like the Friedrich Russ here which operates a service from Zeebrugge to Bilbao.

P&O’s Arcadia leaving Zeebrugge, picture taken from the viewpoint where the picnic tables are.

Cunards Queen Victoria leaving Zeebrugge, picture taken from the bridge over the Pierre Vandamme Sluis.

Blue Star 1 leaving Zeebrugge for Rosyth, picture taken from the bridge.

For the cruise ships on the other quay and the container ships there is another viewpoint near the Zeebrugge marina. It’s right in front of the container quay in dark blue on the map. It has some excellent views and it’s rather quiet there.

Some pictures of the spot:

The platform facing the sea.

And here facing inland.

Something I discovered whilst taking these pictures: a memorial plate of an attack in the Second World War.

A memorial for the fishermen who died at sea is also there.

Some pictures of the views from the spot:

CMA CGM Don Giovanni on the container berth and Xin Los Angeles leaving.

Marco Polo on the other cruise quay.

Both these spots are relatively easy to find and are accessible by public transport and by car. For both spots, you can jump off the tramway at “Zeebrugge Kerk” from where you have a 5 minute walk to the bridges and about 15 minutes to the spot overlooking the container quay. There is space available to park your car near both spots but you may have to drive around a bit on hot summer days or during the “Vlootdagen” (open weekend at the naval base which are very, very busy).

I won’t add information about the bike route on the Western dam since this one is only open this summer and I’m not sure whether it will reopen next summer. If you want to use it this summer (it’s open till the end of August), the information is on the forum.

DE ACHTERHAVEN

Now, the “Achterhaven” isn’t an easy place to take pictures. The lot is closed and the best chance you’ve got to take pictures of the ships there is when they move through the locks. The only other place where you can take pictures is the cycle path along the canal to Bruges. It’s right at the end of this path and gives an overview of the whole place. The cycle path is easily accessible from Lissewege, a small village south of Zeebrugge which is worth a visit on it’s own. I don’t know if there are any busses to Lissewege but it’s certainly easier to reach by car.

Image © Google Maps

An overview of the “achterhaven”. The cycle path is indicated in red.

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