News & events

The life cycle of steel – all in one day and all of it to be experienced at North Sea Port in Ghent! Our group visited the steel mill of ArcelorMittal, where high quality products are made and shipped by maritime vessel, inland barges, train and trucks to various customers in the automotive sector and for industrial applications.

Steel (and other metal) scrap then makes its way back to Ghent, to be recycled at Galloo Ghent. Even whole vessels that are end-of-life get stripped down, sliced up and converted into raw materials, ready to be reused again.

Historical Bruges (Belgium) is hosting the 2022 EAWE PhD Seminar this year, expecting to welcome over 100 PhD researchers from over the whole of Europe, interested in key-talks and presentations on wind energy. The organization this year is in the capable hands of the PhairywinD PhD group, 9 Belgian early stage researchers focusing on offshore wind energy.

More information:

• Website: www.phairywind.be
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/phairywind

Our first study trip took us to the biggest port in Europe: Rotterdam! Facts, figures and a future-proof vision were presented at the World Port Centre, which offers spectacular views over the city as well. Some 45 km out from the city, we reached the newest man-made part of port land: Maasvlakte II. We explored this high tech (and partially autonomous) port by bus and boat tour. This port is constantly changing at a rapid pace & reinventing itself – come see for yourself with us next year!

Students visited the HUMBRIA SEAWAYS roro-vessel by DFDS at the terminal near the Mercator dock in Ghent. A guided tour of the ship’s bridge, machine room and loading decks, followed by a presentation about the multimodal approach from DFDS.

Stukwerkers, one of the oldest stevedoring companies, opened their doors once again for our group of Maritime Science students. We visited various locations in North Sea Port, where Stukwerkers has operations for many customers in various industries: fertilizer, steel, multimodal container handling, ...

The first field trip for the new batch of Maritime Science students of 2022-2023 started off with a visit to North Sea Port (Ghent) on October 7^th 2022. Presented with facts and figures by the CEO of North Sea Port Daan Schalck, we then embarked on a boat tour of the port from Ghent to Terneuzen (NL), with guided commentary by our colleague Jean-Louis Vandevoorde.

The MSc in Maritime Science programme is proud to announce that student An-Sofie Obrie has won the Flows award 'Thesis of the Year' 2022!!

During the first live broadcast in the Flows studio, An-Sofie was awarded for her master thesis, titled "Legal challenges regarding autonomous shipping in inland waters", under promotorship of Prof. dr. Evert Lataire.

An-Sofie convinced the jury thanks to the originality and importance of the topic, the creative writing quality and the used methodology. Well done!!

The MSc in Maritime Science programme is looking for a parttime (15%) practical assistant for the organisation and guidance of the Study and Field trips course.

Interested to join our team? Check the vacancy here.

On Friday 3 June 2022, the EU Parliament TRAN Committee delegation paid a visit to our beautiful city of Ghent.

First, the delegation visited North Sea Port’s “Havenhuis”, located at Graslei for a guided tour and exhibition on the port, followed by a visit to the faculty of Law with a presentation on the research fields of the Maritime Institute and a discussion on transport related issues.

With summertime in view, one of the busiest moments of the year is again packed with paper presentations, exams and of course the defence of the master thesis.

God's speed to class 2021-2022!! The best of luck with your maritime career, do keep in touch :-)

Het 24e Maritiem symposium met als thema ‘Klimaatverandering en havens: naar een versnelling in strategische adaptatie’ van woensdag 18 mei 2022 werd GEANNULEERD.

Indien u zich hiervoor inschreef, dan kan u voor het regelen van een creditnota terecht bij Gandaius.

The last and final field trip will took the group to the Antwerp port area on the Left Bank of the Scheldt on Thursday 4 May.

This concluding trip of class 2021-2022 had two very interesting destinations: Kieldrechtsluis, Beveren and container terminal MPET (MSC PSA European Terminal).

The Maritime Institute (situated within the Department of European, Public and International Law of the Faculty of Law and Criminology of Ghent University) is looking for a full-time PhD student who will work on the topic “Revising the international fisheries regime: optimum conservation and utilization of fish stocks through feasible legal measures, adequate implementation and effective enforcement” under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Klaas Willaert.

Interested to join our team? Check the vacancy here.

On 20 of April, the group headed to  the other side of the Scheldt river for a guided tour of the Flushing/Vlissingen side of North Sea Port and two of its most prominent port companies: Kloosterboer (www.kloosterboer.com) and Verbrugge Terminals (www.verbruggeinternational.com).

On Wednesday 23 March, the group had an appointment with MSc-alumnus Dieter Rabaut at DEME Offshore for a welcoming and a presentation of the activities of Deme. This was followed by a visit to the ORION Simulator and a bus tour through the Antwerp Left Bank Port Area.

A visit to Ostend was on the programme on Wednesday 16 March. First the students followed a presentation at Port of Ostend, after which they were welcomed at the MRCC (Maritime Rescue & Coordination Centre). The afternoon programme was a visit to the Flanders Maritime Laboratory, and Blue Cluster/Bluebridge.

On Wednesday March 9 the group headed to Antwerp for another full day visit. A presentation of the Port of Antwerp and a bus tour of the Right Bank port area in the morning was followed by a visit to Seafar in the afternoon.

The destination on Wednesday March 2, 2022 was Brussels.  First, a tour and presentation of Port of Brussels was on the programme, after which the students enjoyed a short walk to their next appointment: the European Sea Ports Organisation (ESPO).

The next field trip of 2022 took the group to Zeebrugge on Wednesday February 23. The full-day programme was packed with interesting visits, starting with a presentation of Port of Zeebrugge, a visit to International Car Operators, a bus tour through the port area and a visit to the company ECS European Containers.

The visit to Tailormade Logistics in December 2021 had to be postponed because of the omicron upswing of the COVID-19 pandemic. Fortunately the students could take a rain check: on 16 February 2022, the field trip with a focus on logistics could take place, it was surely worth the wait!!