A strike by pilots and maritime traffic controllers in Zeebrugge, Belgium, has largely halted shipping traffic to and from the country’s coastal ports, officials said Monday, March 9, 2026. The disruption affects access to key ports and underscores the potential for labor disputes to impact international trade routes.
The perform stoppage at the Zeebrugge radar center, which is responsible for guiding ships along the Belgian coast, began as a protest over federal pension reforms. Pilots and traffic controllers have been in negotiations regarding their pensions for more than a year, expressing dissatisfaction with the changes.
“Our pilots and sailors see their pension rights eroded, while the Flemish government continues to stall,” a union representative stated, according to reports. The action follows a similar protest in late November and is linked to a national day of action planned for later this week.
The impact is significant, with a large number of vessels unable to reach the ports of Antwerp and Ghent, and no ships currently able to enter the harbors of Zeebrugge or Ostend. Recreational boating and fishing activities are too affected. However, ships traveling from the north and up the Western Scheldt can still reach Antwerp and Ghent, as they do not need to navigate through the area controlled by the Zeebrugge radar tower.
The strike also prevents ships from being piloted, as the vessel used by pilots to reach larger ships is also located within the affected area. More details on the disruption are available from VRT News.
The ACOD socialist union had indicated that action would be taken “very shortly” due to the pension reforms and a lack of solutions from the Flemish government regarding the nautical chain. Newskoppen.be provides additional coverage of the strike.
Similar disruptions were reported earlier in the week, with over one hundred ships unable to enter or leave the ports of Antwerp, Ghent, and Zeebrugge due to a pilot strike against the pension reforms, which began over the weekend and is ongoing. Scheepvaartkrant.nl has further information on the wider impact of the strike.
