Antwerp tackles illicit goods in cars

   Belgium’s Port of Antwerp will step up efforts to prevent importers from using second-hand cars to bring illicit wastes into the country.
   The Antwerp Port Authority board on Tuesday approved the new measures, effective Jan. 1. Sharper checks will be carried out not only on the vehicles themselves but also on accompanying freight. With these new regulations the port hopes to make clear what can and cannot be shipped.
   Antwerp is one of Europe’s largest ports for roll-on/roll-off freight, with 3.9 million tons being shipped in 2010. However, the trade in second-hand cars is increasingly being associated with transport of illegal waste.
   “We are getting more and more reports of car dealers using second-hand vehicles as ‘packaging’ for materials that are borderline or even downright illegal,” said Port Authority Chief Executive Officer Eddy Bruyninckx, in a statement.
   “Accompanying freight” is defined by the port as materials that do not belong with the vehicle itself but that are shipped in or along with it. The list of prohibited accompanying freight includes among other things old car parts, refrigerators and freezers containing CFCs, old and defective equipment such as domestic appliances, televisions, computers and mobile phones, as well as old car batteries, expired medicines and waste oil.
   To combat this illicit trade, temporary regulations were introduced on July 1. During the past few months these regulations have been further refined in consultation with the various authorities. For example, vehicles that are refused cannot enter the terminal and must be removed immediately. Also the vehicles cannot be presented again for shipping at any other terminal in the Antwerp port area unless they have been brought into compliance with the acceptance criteria.
   To enforce the new regulations the port authority appointed another eight inspectors in the middle of the past year. This enables additional checks to be carried out at terminals where the percentage of vehicles rejected is “suspiciously” low. “We want to make absolutely clear that the new regulations mean what they say: they are a tool that we will use to banish illicit practices from our port,” said port official Marc Van Peel.