December 1 - In Antwerp, the Van Cauwelaert lock, used primarily for inland commercial traffic, will be out of operation from December 7th for two years.

In a statement the port authority said: "During this period inland vessels which normally use this lock will be rerouted via another parallel lock (the Boudewijn lock) as much as possible."50 percent of the capacity of the Boudewijn lock has been reserved. By taking these measures, Antwerp Port Authority hopes to keep disruption to a minimum." 

The lock is being shut down for operational maintenance, including the replacement of key equipment. The work will be finished in January 2011, but the port said it would open for traffic in April 2011 to allow a three-month buffer.