Antwerp Port Partially Reopens After Toxic Gas Leak

On Tuesday night, a hydrofluoric acid toxic gas leak at Antwerp's Deurganckdok port area forced a complete operational shutdown and resulted in 155 hospitalizations. Emergency response teams worked through cleanup operations, enabling partial reopening of critical container handling infrastructure. This incident highlights the vulnerability of Europe's busiest ports to chemical hazmat events and the cascading disruption such events create across containerized supply chains.

The partial reopening reflects a measured restart strategy: DP World's Antwerp Gateway (Quay 1700) and part of the MSC-PSA MEPT terminal (Quay 1718) resumed operations, while the northern MSC-PSA section (Quay 1741) remained closed pending further clearance. This phased approach reduces capacity at a critical European gateway serving automotive, retail, and manufacturing sectors that depend on predictable transit through Antwerp. For supply chain professionals, this incident underscores the importance of diversified port access, contingency routing plans, and real-time visibility into hazmat-adjacent facilities.

The closure duration remains unclear, and secondary impacts on vessel schedules, container positioning, and dwell times could extend well beyond the immediate reopening period. Organizations with high Antwerp dependency should activate alternative routing and inventory buffers immediately.