For many decades now, the port of Antwerp has been a leader in the shipment of second-hand vehicles. In order to ensure that this takes place as sustainable and safe as possible, more stringent rules governing byloads inside second-hand vehicles will be introduced as of 2021, the company said in its release.
Around 300,000 second-hand vehicles are shipped via the Port of Antwerp each year and around 80% of those vehicles are carrying byloads on board. From sector consultations last year, the existing regulations and checks carried out on these byloads were found to be no longer sufficient as a means of limiting the potential risks and of guaranteeing safety at the terminals and on board vessels. Therefore, the regulations for the shipment of byloads inside second-hand vehicles have already been amended in September 2019.
Those amended rules certainly brought about an improvement, but various measurements have shown that additional steps will be needed in order to achieve a sustainable, safe and secure method for the processing and transportation of second-hand vehicles. For that reason, it was decided that from 1 January 2021 onwards, the regulations would become even stricter than before. From that date onwards, second-hand cars and small vans will no longer be permitted to have any byloads on board. Byloads will be permitted in the case of larger vans, trucks and trailers, but the maximum permitted weight of the vehicle must not be exceeded and in compliance with all relevant legislation and regulations.
Two major players handling and loading second-hand vehicles have taken the initiative to proactively adapt their policies. With immediate effect, Sallaum Lines will no longer accept byloads into second-hand vehicles, with the exception of trucks. Grimaldi Lines will not accept cars, small and large vans with byloads at Antwerp Euroterminal (AET) as of 8 December 2020 and this will be extended to their European network.