Water transport
No bankruptcy in the past five years.
Filed accounts
NACE 50300 · financial year 2025 · 32 filed annual accounts| Per financial year | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Median solvency | 61.3% | 53.5% | 54.8% | 56.6% |
| Median net result | €45,378 | €55,155 | €20,299 | €36,223 |
Hold your customer's or competitor's figures against them in the Sector benchmark
Spread across the country
by region and province · 51 of 67 enterprises with a registered office on file · a sole trader has no published seat- Flanders
- Wallonia
- Brussels
- Abroad
The balance sheets of division 50 on the map, by municipality and down to the address
Largest employers
NACE 50300 as first main activity · staff from the latest accounts- 1 GENT-WATERTOERISTGhent 12.6 FTEfinancial year 2025
- 2 Bootexcursies GruuthuseBruges 11.5 FTEfinancial year 2025
- 3 STAELBruges 9.8 FTEfinancial year 2025
- 4 RONDVAARTEN DE MEULEMEESTERBruges 6.8 FTEfinancial year 2025
- 5 Venetie Van Het NoordenBruges 6.7 FTEfinancial year 2025
Joint committees
from the latest accounts of 18 companies- 139 Inland shipping 12
- 226 White-collar workers in international trade, transport and logistics 5
- 302 Hotels and catering 4
- 100 Auxiliary committee for blue-collar workers 2
- 200 Auxiliary committee for white-collar workers 2
- 323 Building management, estate agents and domestic staff 1
Source: the annual accounts at the National Bank. One filing can name more than one committee.
Division 50: Water transport
Related activities
3 other activities| Activity | Registrations | Starters, 12 months | Bankruptcies, 12 months | FTE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inland freight water transport50400 | 884 | 46 | 7 | 597 |
| Water transport50200 | 215 | 15 | 1 | 574 |
| Water transport50100 | 96 | 7 | 0 | 131 |
Bankruptcies per year in division 50
| Per year | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bankruptcies | 14 | 5 | 9 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 5 |
| Jobs lost | 38 | 5 | 14 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 8 | 12 | 7 | 6 | 10 | 5 |
2026 through September. Every bankruptcy, also of companies that have since left the register. Source: Statbel (Directorate-General Statistics), NACE classification of 2008.
Staff cost per FTE in NACE division 50
85 employers| Size | Median | Middle half | Employers |
|---|---|---|---|
| fewer than 10 FTE | €96,200 | €70,500 to €113,900 | 57 |
| 10 to 49 FTE | €90,200 | €68,600 to €111,500 | 22 |
Employers with the highest staff cost per FTE in this division All sectors by staff cost In the Analysis workbench
Foreign control in NACE division 50
532 registered companiesSubsidies in this sector
per register · legal entities with an enterprise number- Flemish subsidies €2.1m awarded
- Federal transfers 2.0m amount as published
- EU budget €728,456 attributed share
- EU research €765,500 EU contribution
Insights on Water transport
Balance sheet and result. The median net result of €36,223 is above Belgium's €16,516. 15.6% of the annual accounts show negative equity, against 12.4% in Belgium. Solvency of 56.6% is above Belgium's 46.1%.
Bankruptcies. The median bankruptcy probability of 0.1% is below Belgium's 0.2%.
Inflow and structure. In 12 months, 13.4 of 100 companies started, against 8.9 in Belgium. That is more than in 92% of the 87 NACE divisions. Half of the companies are younger than 12.2 years, against 8.1 years in Belgium. 23.9% of the companies are sole traders, against 41.6% in Belgium.
Staff and filing. 43.8% of the financial year 2024 accounts were filed late, against 38.4% in Belgium. The 5 largest employers hold 47 of the 58 FTE: 82.0%.
Direction. Median solvency fell from 61.3% in financial year 2022 to 56.6% in financial year 2025. The median net result fell from €45,378 in financial year 2022 to €36,223 in financial year 2025.
The comparison with Belgium as a whole and with the other divisions is as of 07-11-2026 05:30.
Method and sources
Every company registered today counts under its main activities in the KBO. Establishment units do not count. Staff counts once, under the employer's first main activity, from its latest accounts and only where it fits the staff costs. The count follows the NACE 2025 classification, the version in which code 50300 exists.
The bankruptcies over five years count only companies still registered today, because the activity of a company that left the register is not kept. So they are fewer than the bankruptcies of those years, and the figure is not a probability for the future. Over twelve months the count is nearly complete, because a bankrupt company stays registered while its bankruptcy runs. A company with more than one main activity counts in each of those sectors.
The comparison with Belgium as a whole and with the other NACE divisions rests on an overview of every division, counted again each night. Each division is counted in the version of the NACE classification in which it exists. A standing such as "more than in 80%" compares with the other divisions that have the figure. A division's bankruptcy probability is the median over its companies with a score. Belgium here counts the 1,276,547 companies with a main activity, because only those belong to a division. The other 699,272 registrations publish no activity.
Each median is the value of the middle company, computed over the annual accounts of financial year 2025, and is shown only from 30 accounts. A share (loss-making, negative equity) counts that year's accounts with that trait. Accounts are late when they are filed after the statutory deadline. The direction per financial year follows the companies still registered today. Missing or 90 days late counts the companies with accounts missing today, or whose latest were filed more than 90 days after the deadline. The dossier follows the same rule.