As of 21 March, Port of Antwerp-Bruges is offering Routescanner's Direct Connections on its website. With Routescanner, a shipper or freight forwarder can easily find and compare possible routes for its container shipments on a neutral platform. Direct Connections shows all available connections to Antwerp and Zeebrugge. The platform can also instantly calculate the route's CO2 emissions.

How Does it Work?

Routescanner's Direct Connections plug-in will replace the connectivity platforms on the Port of Antwerp-Bruges website and will primarily show options via Antwerp and Zeebrugge. The user enters an origin and/or final destination, and then receives an overview of all available connections to Port of Antwerp-Bruges, including transit times, distances, mode, CO2 emissions and service providers offering that route.

Routescanner is actively and continuously fed information on transport services in the foreland and hinterland and also enables the shipper or freight forwarder to immediately request a quote from the service provider.

It is an existing, user-friendly platform that is now very well known in the world of transport. There are already more than 10,000 users worldwide, who can choose from over 730,000 transport services.

Greet Van Wesemael, Mobility Manager at Port of Antwerp-Bruges, says: "Shippers and freight forwarders using the platform will also see options they might not initially have thought of themselves. For hinterland transport, all transport modes are shown and can be compared at a glance. This should give a push to the modal shift towards more sustainable transport such as railway transport and inland navigation."

Global Network

As it is a universal platform, transport providers only have to enter their data in one place in order to reach shippers and freight forwarders all around the world. Thus, nearly 200 inland navigation & railway operators, short sea & deep sea shipping companies are already on board, and over 4,500 terminals are connected.

Chantal Gouka, Managing Director of Routescanner, says: "We are extremely proud that Port of Antwerp-Bruges has launched our Direct Connections solution. As the initiator of Routescanner, I believe that working together to provide global insight into container transport routes contributes to the transparency, sustainability and efficiency of the logistics sector. Direct Connections will make the network to and from Antwerp and Zeebrugge transparent and will also simplify planning and orientation for its clients. Thanks for the vote of confidence. Let's rethink supply chains together!"