[3] The port of Ghent is accessible by ships of the Panamax size, and in February 2015 the construction of a new lock at Terneuzen was announced, which will maintain near-parity with those of the Panama Canal expansion project.

[4] In 1251, the Lieve Canal was constructed in order to attempt to connect Ghent to Damme, which was at that time was situated at the Zwin.

As waterborne traffic and port activities increased, the sea canal was extended several times: The works on the Sifferdok were complicated by the crisis of the thirties and by World Wars I and II.

In 1960 an agreement was signed between Belgium and the Netherlands, which stipulated that a new sealock was to be built and that the canal was to be adapted for vessels up to 80,000 tonnes deadweight (DWT).

now one post-panamax vessel has already managed to pass through the existing lock.her name was alam permai with a deadweight of 87000 tonnes With the digging of the newest dock, the Kluizendok, a new era dawned for Ghent.