Last modified: 2007-05-05 by ivan sache
Keywords: vereniging belgische reders der binnen- en rijnvaart | association of belgian shipowners of inland and rhine navigation | letters: vbr (red) | promotie binnenvaart vlaanderen | flemish inland navigation promo |
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![[Flag of VBR]](../images/b/be~vebrb.gif)
Flag of VBR - Image by António Martins, 6 February 2007
According to the Kantoor Binnenvaart website, the flag of the Vereniging
Belgische Reders der Binnen- en Rijnvaart, based in
Schoten, is yellow with narrow blue and black
horizontal edges, and the letters VBR in red in the middle.
From a VBR table flag, the ratio of the stripes seems to be (2:1:9:1:2):25, making an overall ratio of 3:5.
Jan Mertens & António Martins, 6 February 2007
The Flemish Inland Navigation Promotion Office (Promotie Binnenvaart Vlaanderen, PBV) is located at Hasselt, near the important Albert Canal linking Liège and Antwerp. Quoting the PBV website:
Following a 1996 European Directive, inland navigation has been liberalized. In Flanders, the Directive was implemented on 1 December 1998, more than one year before the all-Europe obligation became law. Before the liberalization, inland navigation was a rather closed mode of transport, and cargo was assigned by rotation on a so-called shipping-exchange. This system guaranteed a regular job and minimum transport prices, but in the final count it slowed down the development of inland navigation. Those countries that were the first to liberalize inland navigation, were able to reap the benefits sooner than others. In Flanders, liberalization went hand in hand with a strong increase in volumes of shipped goods.
The flag of PBV is shown on the cover of the 2005 Annual Report. The flag is horizontally divided white-blue (1:4) with the
words PROMOTIE / BINNENVAART VLAANDEREN in the lower half of the field and the
office's logotype in the upper hoist. The logotype consists mainly of a
three-bladed yellow screw outlined in black and with a central
black ring surmounted by a small stylized Flemish lion in black. The letters have no serifs and PROMOTIE, in a much thinner font, is placed
above BINNENVAART. Here the Flemish lion is the one prescribed for printing, not for use on real flags.
A pennant of PBV was on sale on eBay Germany in October 2006; the pennant includes the lion and is divided 1:2 rather than 1:4.
On the PBV website, the lion has been
dropped from the logotype; I remember it well seeing it on the site in the past so the
aforementioned pictures really show a previous version. Logically,
this implies a new version of the flag I have not encountered yet.
A sighting in Antwerp harbour docks in December 2006 confirms that, on the flag, the little lion has indeed been plucked away from its position above the screw and now appears, rather
bigger, in the white stripe at the end of the hoist.
Jan Mertens, 15 December 2006
Shippers' Alliance of the Sambre in Belgium (Alliance Batelière de la Sambre Belge, ASBB), founded on 1 January 1968 and based in Thuin, is an insurance firm addressing inland navigators.
The flag of ASBB can be seen as a drawing on the Vlootschouw website. Such a flag, measuring 45 x 95 cm, was on sale on eBay Belgium (French version) in June 2005; the flag is white with a black ship sailing towards the hoist on blue waves and placed between blue serifed initials AB and SB, respectively. The place name THUIN is added below the ship in black letters, somewhat smaller, and without serifs.
Jan Mertens, 4 November 2006