- Ghent-Terneuzen Canal
The Ghent-Terneuzen Canal (Dutch: Kanaal van Gent naar Terneuzen), also known as the "Sea Canal" (Zeekanaal) is a
canal linkingGhent inBelgium to theport ofTerneuzen on theWesterschelde (Scheldt )estuary in theNetherlands , thereby providing the former with better access to thesea .History
The canal was constructed between 1823 and 1827 on the initiative of the Dutch King: Belgium (as it subsequently became) and the Netherlands had become a united country under the terms agreed at the
Congress of Vienna . After Belgium broke away in 1830, traffic to and from Belgium was blocked by the Dutch until 1841.Between 1870 and 1885 the canal was enlarged to a depth of six and a half meters at its centre, and to a width of 17 meters at its base and 68 meters at the surface level: bridges were rebuilt accordingly along the Belgian sector.
Further development and major enlargement took place during the subsequent century, most notably during the early 1960s.
Today
Today the Ghent-Terneuzen canal is 200 meters wide and 32 kilometers (20 miles) long, capable of accommodating ships of up to 125 000 gross tonnage. The largest permitted vessel size has increased, correspondingly, to 265 meters long x 34 meters wide, with a draft up to 12.5 meters.
References
External links
* [http://www.terneuzen.com/portaal/kanaal.htm Portaal van Vlaanderen] Nl
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