On Friday, 1 August 2025, the Nieuwe Sluis Terneuzen will be fully operational. As of that moment, the Nieuwe Sluis will become a standard part of the North Sea locks, allowing ships with a draught of 12.5 metres to pass through at any tide. Previously, this was only possible at high tide.
The Nieuwe Sluis Terneuzen was officially opened by the kings of the Netherlands and Belgium in October last year. A test phase involving various trial runs began on 8 May 2025, as the nautical parties (boatmen, skippers, pilots, towage services, and operators) sought to gain experience in operating the Nieuwe Sluis, navigating and guiding ships through the lock chamber, and working on the lock plateau under controlled conditions.
The Nieuwe Sluis was therefore intensively tested, with increasingly larger ships passing through the lock and the number of ships being locked simultaneously also increasing. The trial runs went smoothly, and now that the test phase has been completed, the Nieuwe Sluis Terneuzen will be officially put into full operation on 1 August 2025.
The new, larger lock will significantly increase the capacity of the North Sea locks. The Nieuwe Sluis will provide both better, wider access and enable a smoother traffic flow for ships travelling from the North Sea and the Westerschelde to the Ghent-Terneuzen Canal and beyond.
Image: Project Nieuwe Sluis Terneuzen.
