Ship spotting on the Western Scheldt (Netherlands)

Oct. 24, 2025508 Views Zeeland, Zeeland Flanders 6 min read

Photos - Info - Meteo - Tips - Geo Info - Starry Sky [- Tides].

General information about Scheldt Information Point

Ship spotting on the Western Scheldt is fun and educational!

The Scheldt Information Point (S.I.P.) is an observation platform located in the ferry port of Terneuzen. It allows you to watch large container ships and other vessels pass by at a very short distance. Impressive hearing such a cargo ship. Didactic panels were installed so you can learn a thing or two about communication at sea, for example, and much more. With a special "viewmaster" you can view pictures of the port from earlier times. You can reach the S.I.P. via the western pier of the ferry port.

On the East Pier of the same harbor, there is also a maritime viewpoint. There is a white-and-blue painted work of art where you can perch a bit out of the wind. Since the ships sailing toward Antwerp pass along that side of the Westerschelde, they do get very close at both the S.I.P. and this Westerpunt. If you stand at the East Pier of Terneuzen and look toward the North Sea, you will see the S.I.P. in the foreground. Keep that in mind.

Did you know that...
you can look up information from almost any ship in the world ?
Yes, do this for example through the website MarineTraffic.com Enter the name of the ship and you will get details such as type of ship, flag, dimensions,... but also the current position.

Visitor tips Scheldt Information Point

General tips:
1) if you are looking for other nearby attractions, consult our tourist map.
2) You can consult our overview lists: by category ( e.g. timeline, size, ...) or by region
3) You can also always consult tourist services: see our overview of tourist services

Tip 1: Basically, you can spot sailing large sea ships almost everywhere on the Westerschelde, mostly from the fortified dike more specifically. On the tourist map of Top.Vlaanderen you will find some other viewpoints: for example East of Vlissingen (municipality of Ritthem), the" Low Lighthouse" of Westkapelle, the dike of Zoutelande, the dike of Vlissingen, and so on. To do this, you do have to cross (or go under 😉 ) the Westerschelde. Then you are no longer in Zeeuws-Vlaanderen but still in the Dutch province of Zeeland.

Tip 2: On the Western Scheldt there is usually a strong breeze or strong wind. Be prepared for that in terms of clothing. Also, always keep an eye on the meteorological warnings.

Tip 3:In wet weather, keep in mind that piers, dikes, palisades, breakwaters, etc. can be particularly slippery!

Tip 4: If you are in Terneuzen, be sure not to miss a visit to "De Nieuwe Sluis."

Geographical information

Address: Scheldeboulevard, Terneuzen, Zeeland, Netherlands
Geographical coordinates:
- Google Maps: Latitude = 51.3430628 - Longitude = 3.8266031
- Open Street Maps: Latitude = 51.343063 - Longitude = 3.826972
- Altitude h = m
Indication of Scheldt Information Point on:
Tourist map of Top.Vlaanderen - Google Maps - OpenStreetMap.
Route to Scheldt Information Point: Route via Google Maps

Meteo

Current Weather Daily Weather Hourly Weather Weather Map

Terneuzen, NL

21:22, 11/07/2025

12°C

Low: 12° High: 13°

Feels like 12°C°|. cloudy

Sunrise 07:48

Sunset 17:08

Humidity 87 %

Pressure 1009 mb

Wind 17 Km/h SSE

Wind Gust 0 Km/h

UV Index 0

Precipitation 0 mm

Clouds 100%

Rain Chance 0%

Visibility 10 km

Day	Condition	Temperature	Precipitation	Rain Chance	Wind	Humidity	Pressure
Today 22:00	cloudless	12° \| 13°°C	0 mm	0%	11 Km/h	90 %	1011 mb
Tomorrow 22:00	slightly cloudy	6° \| 15°°C	0 mm	0%	11 Km/h	91 %	1016 mb
Sun Nov 09 22:00	very light cloud cover	8° \| 14°°C	0 mm	0%	11 Km/h	97 %	1018 mb
Mon Nov 10 22:00	light rain	7° \| 13°°C	1 mm	100%	21 Km/h	92 %	1016 mb
Tue Nov 11 22:00	light rain	8° \| 13°°C	1 mm	100%	19 Km/h	94 %	1015 mb

1 to 8 of 0 results

Hour	Condition	Temperature	Rain Chance	Wind	Humidity	Pressure
Today 22:00	cloudless	10° \| 12°°C	0%	11 Km/h	90 %	1011 mb
Tomorrow 01:00	very light cloud cover	8° \| 11°°C	0%	10 Km/h	90 %	1011 mb
Tomorrow 04:00	partly cloudy	6° \| 8°°C	0%	10 Km/h	88 %	1011 mb
Tomorrow 07:00	cloudy	6° \| 6°°C	0%	7 Km/h	89 %	1012 mb
Tomorrow 10:00	slightly cloudy	11° \| 11°°C	0%	7 Km/h	75 %	1014 mb
Tomorrow 13:00	very light cloud cover	15° \| 15°°C	0%	11 Km/h	62 %	1014 mb
Tomorrow 16:00	very light cloud cover	15° \| 15°°C	0%	10 Km/h	69 %	1014 mb
Tomorrow 19:00	partly cloudy	13° \| 13°°C	0%	9 Km/h	85 %	1015 mb

1 to 8 of 0 results

Starry sky above Scheldt Information Point


  
    ⭐ In-The-Sky — Zonsondergang (FOV 90°, Zuiden)✨ In-The-Sky — Nu (FOV 90°, Zuiden)🔭 Stellarium — Nu (FOV 90°, Noorden)

Tide predictions

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Internet information from and about Scheldt Information Point

Tourism Office "Foundation Portal of Flanders":
Website - Facebook - Instagram
Adjacent catering establishment "Brasserie Westbeer": highly recommended: fresh fish, snacks, coffees, all at a very nice water panorama
Website - Facebook - Instagram

Our photos about Scheldt Information Point

Our photos, videos, ... are all (c) 2004-2025, Top.Vlaanderen, Belgium. They may not be copied or used "just like that". However, they can be licensed. Would you like us to photograph your own tourist attraction, B&B, vacation home...? Please contact us via our Contact form .

Photos taken at the Scheldt Information Point (Sept. 24, 2025)

Photos taken at the West Pier of Terneuzen (Sept. 24, 2025)

View of the East Pier and high-rise buildings in Terneuzen.

Photos of ships on the Westerschelde (Sept. 24/25, 2025)

Photos of ships at Flushing (Sept. 25, 2025)

Quiz question: Look at the 3 pictures of the "MSC Istanbul" below. How many containers do you think this container ship can carry?

Answer: on top of the deck alone are as many as 10 layers of containers. Add to that, say, 5 more layers below deck. And, uh, per layer maybe 25 x 20 = 500 containers. Our estimate: a total of at least 15 layers * 500 = 7,500 containers. Gulp 😉

You can find more details about this ship on MarineTraffic: she is a whopping 399 meters long and 54 meters wide! If you know that one soccer field is about 7,140 m², the area of this ship corresponds to... 399 x 54 / 7,140 = 3 soccer fields! In the third picture, you can compare the container ship "MSC Instanbul" with a fishing boat (the UK35 "ADRIANA MAATJEU"): it is (anyway) 23 meters long and 6 m wide. Despite the fact that this fishing vessel sails much closer, she is quasi dwarfed by that container ship. Yep, oh-so big is such a container ship.

In terms of capacity, we also find the following specifically on the Internet: "The MSC Istanbul can carry about 16,652 TEU." One 40-foot container (that is, a long container) = 2 TEU. So this ship can carry a maximum of about 8,000 large containers. Comes close to the estimate we made above. And since one large container can hold about 24 EU pallets, the cargo capacity of this ship equals roughly about 200,000 EU pallets... .

Impressive, no 😉

Disclaimer: All information presented on top.vlaanderen has been compiled with the utmost care. It is also checked regularly. If you have any comments, errors, additional information, etc... please contact us via our contact form. We are not responsible for possible incorrect or incomplete information.