De Vlaamse Waterweg
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From electronic reporting to voyage permit in Flanders

⚠ The article below was partially automatically translated from the Dutch version

For all professional inland waterway voyages in Flanders, you are required by law to obtain a navigation permit via an electronic travel notification[1].

Usually, obtaining a navigation permit from De Vlaamse Waterweg is child's play, but sometimes reality proves more complex.
A well-drafted electronic travel notification often works wonders. In doing so, it's useful to understand how the navigation permit you need is being drawn up.

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Drawing up a navigation permit: how is it done?

A navigation permit is issued for an exact route. Therefore, the data we receive about your trip is applied to the EuRIS Voyage Planner.
Along with the specified locations and departure/arrival times from your travel notification, the current dimensions of your ship or convoy are taken into account. This data is aligned with the known maximum allowed dimensions of all locks, bridges, and waterways in the network, as well as the operating times of fairway objects and any NtS messages in effect. If more than one route can be calculated for your voyage, we assume you'll follow the one with the shortest travel time. This prediction is not infallible, but generally logical.

The route thus estimated forms the basis of your navigation permit. We use this to calculate the navigation fees to be charged and to predict your passages through fairway objects. This allows planning at locks or bridges to proceed as smoothly as possible.
For safety reasons (passengers and/or crew members on board, dangerous cargo, etc.), it is necessary to always provide the correct and complete information about your trip. This is a legal requirement for all professional navigation in Flanders[1], even for trips without cargo and routes with no lock passages.

For all travel notifications received by De Vlaamse Waterweg, a confirmation email is sent. Since May 2025, we also do this when a navigation permit cannot be automatically issued. Did you not receive any confirmation at all? Then something went seriously wrong with the choice of the first reporting point, route determination, reported travel period, or with your email/contact details. Carefully review all the tips below and try to re-send your travel notification.

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8 Tips for a Successful Trip Notification

1 Route determination only according to permitted dimensions
Check whether the dimensions of your vessel or convoy are permitted on each part of your planned route. When estimating your navigation route, we strictly take into account all permitted dimensions on the network. To know (or verify) your route options: Check the map of all waterways and their CEMT class, the list of dimensions of all locks and bridges, or test yourself how your voyage and route is calculated with the EuRIS voyage planner.
2 Add route points
A golden rule: The more precisely you indicate where your trip will go, the greater the chance that your itinerary and our calculation of it will coincide. Always add a few route points (locks, bridges,...) to your travel notification.
⚠️ When the departure and destination of a voyage are the same (e.g., some passenger trips, service vessels), adding route points is mandatory.
3 Route points in order
Arrange the specified route points in chronological order of passage within your itinerary. An illogical sequence negatively affects the calculation of your route and your shipping travel duties.
4 Timing of departure & arrival
Try to estimate the time of departure (ETD) and estimated arrival (ETA) realistically when preparing your travel notification. An ETD or ETA that deviates significantly from your actual travel period jeopardizes good planning.
5 Route points in/out of Flanders
Does part of your route pass through Wallonia, France, or the Netherlands? Utilizing available data on the European waterway network, we try to estimate where your vessel will enter or leave Flanders. This is essential information to correctly calculate your route within Flanders. A route point near the border crossing you use with the Netherlands, France, or Wallonia is therefore particularly useful.
6 The correct "first reporting point"
Your reporting software wants to know to which first reporting point you are sending your trip notification, and often fills in the most logical choice itself. The departure point of the route and your current (AIS) location at the time of reporting are relevant here.
  • Are you making your trip notification from within Flanders? Always choose the reporting point Vlaanderen, Brussel en Westerschelde (ERIBA).
  • Are you traveling from the Netherlands to Flanders (or through it)?
    1. Report your trip at the time of departure, or at least well before you reach the Belgian border, even if you are not legally required to report your voyage in the Netherlands.
    2. Rijkswaterstaat/IVS-NEXT automatically forwards your trip notification to eRIBA when your AIS signal passes a specific location. These AIS locations (one for each access route) are on Dutch territory, a few kilometers from the Belgian border, to allow timely reporting.
    ⚠️ Are you late, and reporting from within Belgium or close to the border? Then you must manually overwrite the first reporting point in your trip notification and change it to "Vlaanderen, Brussel en Westerschelde (ERIBA)". Only then can your trip notification be received in Flanders.
  • Are you entering Flanders from France or Wallonia? Then choose the first reporting point Vlaanderen, Brussel en Westerschelde (ERIBA) and send your trip notification when you approach the Flemish territory (± 2 hours before border crossing).
7 Trip notification software confirms 'Reported'
A successful notification at the first reporting point is an important first step. BICS and Riverguide show a small confirmation in this regard.
8 Exact ship data in radio, AIS transponder, and trip notification software
During all your movements on the De Vlaamse Waterweg network, we overlay information from your electronic travel notification with signals from AIS and VHF communication. It is very important that the basic data from these signals (hull name, ENI number, callsign, MMSI, ATIS) are exact and consistent where applicable. Be very precise when entering this information into your radio, AIS transponder, and voyage notification software. Small typos or inaccuracies can sometimes make correct trip tracking impossible.
ℹ️ Read more about the legal obligations regarding AIS and radio in the General Police Regulations for Navigation on Inland Waterways (pdf, text only available in Dutch).
💡 Regulations for the installation and use of AIS/VHF equipment vary depending on the regulatory authority: BIPT in Belgium, RDI in the Netherlands, ANFR in France, etc. You can consult the manufacturer or supplier of your transponder, radio, and/or ECDIS equipment for support with correct (re)installation.
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Good to know
  • Have you sent a travel notification, but haven't received a navigation permit from De Vlaamse Waterweg? This certainly can happen: both people and computer programs sometimes make mistakes. Always first carefully check your own sent trip notification, keeping the above tips in mind.
  • Are you sailing with a container ship with different container routes? Your travel notification cannot yet be fully processed automatically. We are working on a solution for this issue.
  • In BICS, you can still modify and supplement your active, already notified voyage. Correct and/or complete the information from your travel notification, pay attention to the selected 'first reporting point' and choose Save and Send. Even if your plans change during travel, you can inform us via BICS in this way. This functionality is currently not available in Riverguide.
  • Are you repeating a previously notified voyage? Always create a new travel notification. Do not modify an old notification with the aim of (re)sending it.
    💡To avoid having to enter the same information repeatedly, most electronic reporting applications allow you to copy a previous trip notification or save fixed routes.
  • Do not send us the same travel notification via different apps/programs (for example: both via BICS and Riverguide). Duplicate travel notifications hinder smooth and correct processing.
  • In your travel notification, always select a terminal or berth as departure or arrival location at De Vlaamse Waterweg. Bridges and locks can only be specified as intermediate points to make it clear along which your route runs.
  • A navigation permit can only be issued if the dimensions of your trip fit within the maximum allowed dimensions on your route.
    Do you have an exceptional transport ahead for which you want to obtain information regarding the navigation permit? Then contact the RIS service of De Vlaamse Waterweg in advance.
  • Is it still not possible to automatically convert your trip notification into a navigation permit? Report this via radio, or contact scheepvaartrechten@vlaamsewaterweg.be. If you have already received a voyage reference number from De Vlaamse Waterweg: keep it handy for smooth communication.
  • To send you your navigation permit, we need a correct email address. Contact scheepvaartrechten@vlaamsewaterweg.be if the contact email address for a vessel has changed, or if you doubt that the correct contact details are known to De Vlaamse Waterweg.
    Are you expecting an email from us but haven't received anything? Always first check the spam folder of your mailbox.

Are you experiencing problems with your trip notification software itself?

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To conclude

All waterway authorities in Flanders and Brussels collaborate via eRIBa, allowing shipping journeys that pass through the territory of different waterway managers (Port of Antwerp-Bruges, Port of Brussels, North Sea Port, Port Oostende, and De Vlaamse Waterweg) to be reported to each other. With this collaboration, we aim to reduce the administration for skippers and shippers.
Navigation permits at De Vlaamse Waterweg and Port of Brussels are both processed by the same system, VisuRIS.

There is an electronic reporting obligation for all professional navigation in Flanders[1].
Passenger vessels are also required to report and must have a passenger navigation subscription (but generally do not pay any further navigation fees).
Recreational navigation does not need to (and cannot) report electronically in Flanders. However, a waterways permit is required. Recreational boaters who travel a route along multiple locks can report this at the first lock they pass.

Good luck!

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Footnotes

[1] The statutory electronic reporting obligation for commercial shipping applies to all vessels, with the exception of pleasure craft, public passenger transport, ferries on the common Meuse and sea-going vessels.

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