Freight forwarding Antwerp – transport to and from Czechia

A seaport 80 km from the sea

Antwerp lies on the Scheldt, roughly 80 km from the North Sea, yet the largest container ships call here. The port stretches north from the city to the Dutch border on both banks of the river, and since 2022 Antwerp and Zeebrugge on the Belgian coast operate as a single port. Container terminals are located on both the right and left banks, linked by tunnels under the Scheldt that are among the busiest spots on Belgian roads.

Alongside containers, the port handles a great deal of break-bulk such as steel, timber and machinery, and hosts a major chemical cluster, covered on the Prague – Antwerp route page. This page focuses on bringing overseas containers and chilled cargo to Czechia.

Three ways to move a container to Czechia

Shipping lines allow only a limited number of free days at and away from the terminal. A round trip to Czechia and back with the empty takes several days, so for each job we compare door delivery with transloading in Antwerp. We also watch the weight: a truck with a container may not exceed 40 tonnes in Germany, so a heavy box of tiles, metal or paper may need transloading onto a lighter trailer. We therefore need the actual cargo weight, not only the bill of lading figure.

What we need to collect a container

• container number and type (20′, 40′ or 40′ high cube),
• shipping line release and confirmation of customs clearance or transit,
• terminal name and which bank of the river it is on,
• empty return location set by the shipping line,
• cargo weight and the delivery address with opening hours.

Terminals release containers against booked times, and queues build at the gates during peak hours. The R1 ring road around Antwerp is often congested in the daytime, so we schedule pickups early in the morning or at night.

Fruit and food from overseas

Antwerp is one of Europe's main fruit ports, especially for bananas, citrus and other fruit from South America, Africa and Asia. Czech wholesalers buy palletised fruit from cold stores near the port, and it travels in refrigerated trucks set to the right temperature for each fruit, with a continuous temperature record. Food of animal origin from outside the EU, such as meat or fish, must pass veterinary checks at the border control post in the port of entry. Only after approval and customs clearance can it leave for Czechia, so we plan these loads once the release is confirmed.

Czech exports through Antwerp

For Czech exporters Antwerp is one of the ports where goods leave for overseas. An empty container can be positioned for loading in Czechia and the full one delivered to the terminal before the vessel's cut-off, or palletised goods can be delivered to a port warehouse for stuffing. Machinery, glass, beer, paper and industrial components are typical exports. The key points are meeting the terminal cut-off and having the export declaration completed.

Route and timing

Prague is about 900 km away, two working days with one driver. Part of the route runs through Germany, where trucks over 7.5 tonnes may not drive on Sundays and public holidays. Goods split into pallets can travel by pallet groupage. Prices for containers and pallets are in the calculator.