Police in Belgium said that one person was killed as a result of a workplace incident on a cargo vessel at the Port of Zeebrugge on Tuesday, June 16.
The victim, identified as a 54-year-old male, was working as a signalman assisting in the loading of trailers and containers on the Malta-registered Ro-Ro ship Delphine when the incident occurred at around 18:00 local time.
According to reports, an onboard towing vehicle struck some of the containers that were being loaded, causing these to shift. The victim then became trapped between a stack of containers and the wall of the vessel.
Police said that the individual succumbed to his injuries at the scene and that a criminal investigation has been launched.
Delphine was temporarily detained to permit forensic experts to conduct an onboard examination of the incident site. The ship was eventually cleared to depart the port and is currently en route to Dublin, Ireland, with an ETA of Saturday, June 20.
Delphine had also been involved in another incident on April 16, 2025, when a fire broke out on one of her vehicle decks while she was berthed at the Port of Zeebrugge. The blaze was not extinguished until three days later, though there were no reported injuries and operations at the rest of the port were not severely affected by the incident.
