Historical Events
- 1866 Mr August de Maere d'Aertrijcke, a Ghent Alderman describes the project of connecting his town with the sea in a public conference. He is known as the father of the Zeebrugge port.
- 1894 Belgian parliament votes the law approving the construction of Port of Heyst
- The port was inaugurated on July 23, 1907 by King Leopold II, arriving by sea.
- On 23 April 1918, the port was the target of a famous raid, the Zeebrugge Raid, by the Royal Navy and Royal Marines. This was an attempt to block access to and from the port by intentionally sinking ships to block the canal entrance, thus preventing its use by German ships and Submarines. Eight participants in the raid were awarded the Victoria Cross.
- On 6 March 1987, the ferry Herald of Free Enterprise (owned by Townsend-Thoresen) was just outside the port when it took on water due to the bow doors remaining open, became unstable and capsized, killing 189 passengers.
Read more about this topic: Port Of Bruges-Zeebrugge
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