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Jacques Vandermeiren, the man who is credited for making the Port of Antwerp-Bruges one of the largest ports in Europe, has stepped down as chief executive.<\/p>\n
Antwerp-Bruges is announcing that after eight years at the helm, Vandermeiren is stepping down to pave the way for a new CEO who will lead the port\u2019s \u201cnew strategic phase\u201d. As the search for his successor gets underway, the current chief operating officer Rob Smeets has been tapped to serve as interim CEO.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have done this job with heart and soul. As an Antwerp native, the port has always been close to my heart, and it was a privilege to transform this organization into a modern, dynamic and high-performing company,\u201d said Vandermeiren.<\/p>\n
According to Antwerp\u2019s Board of Directors, behind the scenes talks of change of leadership at Europe\u2019s second largest port by throughput have been ongoing for some time. Antwerp intends to embark on a new phase that has a strong focus on cost efficiency and value creation. For this reason, the board felt that it would be ideal for a new CEO to design and implement the new strategic plan fully from the outset. Among other new priorities, the port wants to focus on augmenting its container-handling capacity to “safeguard our strategic position as a leading global hub,” Vandermeiren said in a recent post.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Vandermeiren, 62, leaves Antwerp with a legacy of significant expansion and growth. He also ensured that\u00a0it navigated some of the most turbulent times in its history,\u00a0including the Covid-19 pandemic and geopolitical disruptions, notably the Russia invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.<\/p>\n
One of his greatest achievements was engineering the merger between the ports of Antwerp and Zeebrugge in April 2022. The merger created a behemoth that\u00a0handles about 270 million tonnes of cargo annually and supports 74,000 direct and 90,000 indirect jobs.\u00a0It contributes to roughly\u00a04.5 percent of Belgium\u2019s gross domestic product.<\/p>\n
\u201cHis greatest achievement is undoubtedly the successful implementation of the merger between the ports of Antwerp and Zeebrugge, a historic journey that has shaped us into the unified, strong organization we are today,\u201d Johan Klaps, Antwerp-Bruges Board of Directors President.<\/p>\n
The merger occurred just two months after Russia invaded Ukraine, a\u00a0difficult year\u00a0for the newly unified facility. During the year, the port posted an 8.6 percent decline in cargo throughput to 145.3 million tonnes and a 5.2 percent plunge in TEUs handled to 13.5 million. Notably, the plunge came when the port was just recovering from the devastating effects of pandemic-induced disruptions. During the 2020 pandemic year, Antwerp handled 231 million tonnes of cargo.<\/p>\n
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Last year, further geopolitical tensions, economic uncertainty, and industrial action weighed\u00a0heavily on the activities of Antwerp-Bruges. In 2025, the port handled 266.5 million tonnes of cargo, a 4.1 percent decline compared with 2024.<\/p>\n