Steel-damaging bacteria have been found in Belgium. They are d | Amsterdammer in English

Steel-damaging bacteria have been found in Belgium. They are dangerous for all structures in water

MIC (microbiologically induced corrosion) bacteria have been discovered by researchers from the Marine Institute in Antwerp and the universities of Ghent and Leuven. Rust normally eats about 0.1mm of steel a year, but the MIC bacterium eats up to half a centimetre, making it 50 times more destructive. It threatens both ships and canal structures such as dam walls and dykes. Scientists say that traces of the highly corrosive bacterium have been found in the port of Sas van Gent. It may have already reached the Dutch side of the Ghent - Terneuzen canal as well.

"I have inspected hundreds of ships, but I have never seen anything like this: the bacteria is consuming the ship," said Chris de Baer, professor at the Antwerp Maritime Institute. He calls for an urgent, wide-ranging investigation into the origin of the bacteria is urgently needed because open water means it can spread very quickly.