Monarch Empress spent the morning sailing through inland waterways in the Netherlands. Shortly after we crossed the Belgian border, the Boudewijnsluis lock carried the vessel into the River Schledt just above Antwerp. At Boudewijnsluis, the lock chamber accommodated four vessels at a time. I had not seen such a lock as this. Every other lock I had seen, whether on the Panama Canal, the Douro River, or the C&O Canal, had all been designed to accommodate a single vessel in a lock chamber. The Antwerp petrochemical port is the second largest in the world. The waterway is lined with petrochemical docks on either side. Ocean-going ships share berthing space with tanker barges ready to travel to points along the Rhine. Arriving at Antwerp, Monarch Empress berthed close to the city center. Thus, the afternoon walking tour
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