Oil Spill Forces Partial Shipping Halt at Port of Antwerp

Shipping traffic around Belgium's Port of Antwerp has been partially halted because of an oil spill that has spread from one of the port's docks into the river Scheldt.

Antwerp harbour typically handles 60 to 80 ships daily. A port spokesperson could not immediately say how long traffic will remain halted or how many ships would be affected.

"An oil spill occurred during a bunkering operation in the Deurganckdock. The source of the spill has since been stopped and contained," the port said in a statement, adding that pollution had spread to the Scheldt.

Antwerp port is part of the Port of Antwerp-Bruges, the second-largest port in Europe by cargo tonnage, behind Rotterdam.

(Reuters - Reporting by Charlotte Van CampenhoutEditing by David Goodman)