Power failure hits Antwerp port companies after explosion

An explosion occurred at the Port of Antwerp on Thursday afternoon, causing a power failure in the port area, grid operator Fluvius confirmed. The blast happened in a Fluvius substation at the Wilmardonksteenweg, affecting approximately 1,500 customers and a number of port companies.

The Port of Antwerp-Bruges announced that the port house on Zaha Hadidplein had to switch to emergency generators, and several companies had to receive electricity through other substations. "They may have to push for the power to come on again. Communication is not immediately possible for other companies," said the port authority.

Fluvius is working to restore power as quickly as possible, but "because the explosion damaged the switching station, our people have to switch manually at different locations," said David Callens of Fluvius. "That will take a while."

The area around Vosseschijnstraat, Rostockweg, Zomerweg, the Luithage zone and part of Noorderlaan may be without electricity until midnight. Last week, another power failure shut down a large section of Antwerp. At that time, universities and hospitals, among others, had to switch to emergency generators.

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