Antwerp-Bruges doubles double-call discount to 20% in 2027 tariff overhaul

Port of Antwerp-Bruges will double its discount on tonnage dues for double calls from 10% to 20% from 2027, the headline move in a tariff package published this week covering both the Antwerp and Bruges-Zeebrugge port areas.

The increase applies to consecutive calls at Antwerp and Zeebrugge — effectively a price signal telling liners to treat the merged port as one network rather than two competing terminals. Not everything gets cheaper, of course. Towage tariffs in the Antwerp docks rise 3.57%, while Zeebrugge platform towage dues index at 2.65% under the contractual agreements with Boluda.

What does this change for carriers?

The Environmental Ship Index (ESI) discount mechanism has been reformed and standardised across both port areas. The year-of-construction restriction in Antwerp is gone, as is the minimum discount in Zeebrugge. Under the new bands:

• ESI scores from 45 to 70 attract a 10% discount
• Scores above 70 up to 100 attract a 15% discount

Harmonised reductions now apply across both areas to several call types:

• Bunkering for own use: 50%
• Bunker vessels: 75%
• Repairs or dry dock: 50%
• Empty-handed calls or degassing: 50%
• Crew changes: 50%
• Transit: EUR 0.4941 per GT

For container carriers, the maximum gross tonnage charged rises from 175,000 to 200,000 GT — a change that touches only the largest boxships, but touches them on every call.

Automotive tariffs continue their phased GT adjustment, with liner trade at EUR 0.1307 per GT and non-liner trade at EUR 0.2883 per GT from 2027. That non-liner rate is more than double the liner rate, roughly EUR 2.20 per GT difference on a conventional carrier — a clear pricing preference for scheduled services.

In Antwerp, berthing dues for vehicles align with Zeebrugge levels from January 1, 2027 at EUR 0.1830 per tonne. In Zeebrugge, the permitted duration of stay extends from 14 to 20 days, matching Antwerp. A fee of EUR 150 per hour comes in for use of the RoRo bridge at quay 113, and drinking water fees are adjusted.

Cruise ships face the greening bill in 2028

New cruise tariffs take effect January 1, 2028, and they are pointed:

• Greening charge of EUR 4,000 per call
• EUR 6,000 for first connection
• EUR 1.50 greening charge per passenger
• Electricity consumption at EUR 0.31 per kWh
• EUR 1,000 discount per call when a vessel actually connects to shore power

The structure rewards plugging in and penalises idling engines. Expect operators with shore-power-capable ships to route accordingly.

Waste, concessions and the reefer fine print

Waste fees adjust at both locations from January 1, 2027. In Antwerp: a fixed fee of EUR 400 per ship, a variable fee of EUR 0.027 per GT, capped at EUR 1,750. Zeebrugge runs cheaper — EUR 150 fixed, EUR 0.011 per GT, capped at EUR 900.

Concession tariffs index at 3.97%, in line with Belgium's Consumer Price Index for August 2026. A new tariff of EUR 25.99 per square metre per year applies to battery energy storage system activities on concession land — a quiet acknowledgment that BESS is now a port business line, not a curiosity.

Reefer shippers get the sharpest small print. From January 1, 2027, two fees apply at the border inspection post on the left bank: EUR 9 per container per calendar day for use of the reefer monitoring system, and EUR 1,000 per intervention — for up to three hours — for out-of-hours repairs. For a reefer box held a week at the BIP, that's EUR 63 in monitoring alone before any repair bill.

What does this change for forwarders and shippers? Modestly higher towage and waste costs per call, a meaningful new incentive to combine Antwerp and Zeebrugge in one rotation, and a cleaner, more predictable discount grid for cleaner vessels. Carriers will run the math on whether the 20% double-call saving outweighs the extra sailing time — the port is betting it does.