Blankenberge (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Belgium is removing 6 old breakwaters in Zeebrugge and Blankenberge to install underwater cables for Princess Elisabeth Island, an energy hub connecting offshore wind farms. Work paused till June 15, 2025, resumes September 15, 2025, finishes by year-end. Van Der Stockt confirmed 2 bombs were defused.
Belgium is building a new energy hub called Princess Elisabeth Island, which will be connected to offshore wind farms by underwater cables. These cables will bring clean energy from the wind farms to the mainland. However, there are old breakwaters in the way of the best route for the cables.
Officials mentioned that to fix this, the breakwaters may need to be changed so the cables can be installed without problems. This is important because Belgium wants to use more renewable energy, and the new energy hub is a key part of its plan.
We started the preparatory work a few weeks ago. We scanned the beach with a drone for dangerous objects such as bombs. We defused 2 bombs,’
Van Der Stockt added.
Why is Belgium removing six old breakwaters in Zeebrugge?
Work is underway to remove 6 old breakwaters in Zeebrugge. 3 of the breakwaters have already been taken down. The work will continue until June 15th, 2025, then stop for the summer so people can enjoy the beach. The project will start again on September 15th, 2025 and should be finished by the end of the year.
The area where the breakwaters are being removed is very large, about one kilometer long and 500 meters wide. To keep everyone safe, the area is closed off to people who aren’t working on the project. However, there are ways for people to still get to the beach. Officials mentioned that even though the work is big, the goal is to cause as little trouble as possible for people who live in and visit the area.
The harbor of Zeebrugge was transformed when new breakwaters were constructed in 2008. The previous breakwaters regulated the flow of water, but the new ones altered the way the tides functioned.
They mentioned that this made some of the old breakwaters less important because the new ones took over their job. The changes also made the water move faster in some places, especially when the tide goes out.
