Privacy policy

Notice processing personal data

The Port of Ostend attaches great importance to the protection of personal data. The protection of the Data is of great importance for the Port of Ostend and through this privacy statement we want to provide a transparent picture of our policies and practices in this respect. We invite you to carefully read the information contained in this privacy statement so that you know for what purposes the Port of Ostend processes your data. Your personal data will always be protected by us in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of 27 April 2016 of the European Parliament and the Council on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data and repealing Directive 95/46 / EC (General Data Protection Regulation or GDPR) and national legislation implementing this Regulation.

In accordance with the applicable regulations, this Privacy Statement only applies to data that directly or indirectly allow identification of a natural person.

Please pass this notice on to all persons whose personal data we process and who are in direct contact with you.

Who is the controller of your data?

The person responsible for this processing is the Haven Van Oostende NV under public law - Slijkensesteenweg 2, 8400 Oostende, company number 0259.978.212.

Any request in connection with the exercise of your rights can be made at any time and free of charge, by means of a written request to the Data Protection Officer of the Port of Ostend, which you can reach via dpo@portofoostende.be.

As the person responsible for processing, the Port of Ostend will take all appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect personal data against accidental or unauthorized destruction, against accidental loss and any unauthorized processing of personal data.

The Port of Ostend guarantees that no transfer to third countries for data processing or storage takes place without taking the necessary measures to comply with the protection requirements of European privacy legislation.

What type of data is processed?

Customer relations

The Port of Ostend collects the following personal data in this case:

  • E-mail address
  • Personal data that may already be known, such as name, first name, gender, telephone numbers, address, national register number, age, company details, job related data and CVs.

Newsletters

The Port of Ostend collects the following personal data in this case:

  • E-mail address
  • Personal data that may already be known, such as name, first name, gender, telephone numbers, address, national register number, age, company details, job related data and CVs.

Invitations events

The Port of Ostend collects the following personal data in this case:

  • E-mail address
  • Personal data that may already be known, such as name, first name, gender, telephone numbers, address, national register number, age, company details, job related data and CVs.

Operational and informative mailings

  • E-mail address
  • Personal data that may already be known, such as name, first name, gender, telephone numbers, address, national register number, age, company details, job related data and resumes. 

The Port of Ostend in no case collects special categories of personal data, such as data on race, political opinions, health, religious and other beliefs, sexual orientation, and the like.

In addition, the Port of Ostend collects personal data in order to guarantee the proper follow-up and optimization of the newsletters and user experience.

On which moment are your data processed?

Certain of your data can be collected by the Port of Ostend, for example:

  • at the moment that you become client / supplier / (sub) contractor and during the entire duration of your relationship with us;
  • if you indicate that you are interested in our services and products by contacting us via the channels provided or if you use them;
  • at the time you provide us with a duly completed form;
  • at the moment you apply with us;
  • at the moment you use our online services;
  • the moment you subscribe to our newsletters or to other publications;
  • at the moment you reply to invitations to events organized by the Port of Ostend;
  • in case of a visit when you are filmed by our security camera;
  • the moment you publish your data on social networks or freely accessible websites;
  • in case of purchasing or renting a database from professional data providers;
  • at the moment that your data is published or transferred by authorized third parties or in the press.

For what purposes and on the basis of which legal grounds are the data processed?

In most cases we will process your data because you the services of the Port of Ostend as a customer and you are able to do this. In addition, in certain cases we are legally obliged to process your personal data. For example, we are obliged to provide safety. For that reason we can also film you with the cameras that are located in those places and we can check your identity and identify and follow up violations.

In addition, some of the processing operations are part of the legitimate economic importance of the Port of Ostend. Examples include combating fraud, conducting market research, improving its services and developing new products. In doing so, it will always be checked whether your interest in the protection of your private life and your rights with respect to your personal data does not outweigh the interests of the Port of Ostend. If this is actually the case, we cannot proceed with this processing or the Port of Ostend must adjust it so that it is in balance with your interests.

Finally, we will base a number of processing on your consent. This is the case, for example, with electronic direct marketing and when processing specific categories of personal data. This consent will in most cases become apparent from an active action you make (for example, the delivery of your personal data to us). In specific cases, such as when processing medical data, we will ask for your explicit permission.

You can always withdraw your consent. The processing that we have carried out until this withdrawal will remain valid and justified.

With whom does the Port of Ostend share your data?

The Port of Ostend can publish data to employees of the Port of Ostend. The Port of Ostend and its affiliated companies may exchange and centralize data in order to ensure optimal management of their services, product offers or to obtain maximum synergy within their group, in particular within the framework of a common risk assessment policy and acceptance of clients, a general image of its clients or in the fight against fraud and money laundering.

Outside the Port of Ostend she can publish data to:

  1. supervisory authorities
  2. government agencies
  3. subcontractors
  4. external experts

How long do we safe the data?

The Port of Ostend stores your data for the time necessary to achieve the specific purposes by which your data were collected, but also in order to fulfil its fiscal and legal obligations, and for the purpose of collecting evidence, in order to conduct internal audits or to perform or reply to information requests by the competent authorities.

A number of examples are given below without being exhaustive:

  • the storage of the data with regard to a possible client is five years, except in the case of interim contact with the latter. This would start a new five-year period from the day of the last contact;
  • the preservation of data relating to an account is generally ten years after its conclusion;

What are your rights?

You can oppose the use of your personal data for direct marketing.

You can freely oppose the processing of your data for direct marketing purposes at any time. This applies to both the normal processing and the profiling that is used for this direct marketing.

You can receive an overview of the personal data that we process from you.

You have the right to inspect the personal data that we process about you. This overview can help you to check whether you want to use your other rights (e.g. your right to change data).

You can ask us to adjust or supplement the personal data.

If you notice that the personal data we hold about you is incorrect or incomplete, you can ask us to adjust or supplement it. The latter can, for example, be useful if there are consequences associated with this personal data, for example when assessing whether you are eligible for a discount.

You can ask us to remove certain of your personal data.

If you notice that the personal data we hold about you is incorrect or incomplete, you can ask us to adjust or supplement it.

You can ask us to receive your personal data in an electronically readable format.

On the basis of the privacy rules you have the right to the portability of your data. So you can ask us to receive all personal data that you have delivered to us in an electronic format that is readable.

You can withdraw a given permission to process your data.

If the processing is based on your consent, you can withdraw it at any time.

You can ask to limit the processing of your data to certain goals.

The privacy rules give you the right to ask us to limit the processing of your data to certain purposes. However, it will not always be possible for us to comply with this request, for example when we are legally obliged to process your personal data.

How can I do that?

You can always exercise your rights by sending an e-mail (with proof of identity by a copy of the front of your identity card) to dpo@portofoostende.be.

The Port of Ostend will formulate an answer within one month. Some rights can be exercised by yourself by changing the settings.

You can oppose the use of your data for direct marketing by clicking on the "unsubscribe" button that you will find in all direct marketing documents.

After all, you always have the right to file a complaint with the supervisory authority, namely the Data Protection Authority (commission@privacycommission.be).

How do we protect your data?

We have appointed a Data Protection Officer (DPO) who advises us on the privacy rules and checks whether the Port of Ostend complies with the privacy rules.

In addition, we ensure that only the persons who have to process your personal data for their professional activities within the Port of Ostend have access to your data.-

For all major existing processes and all new processes, we carry out a Data Protection Impact Assessment in which, with the help of our DPO, we check whether the privacy rules are followed and your personal data is always adequately protected. Where these assessments result in improvement points for us, these are strictly followed up and a solution must be found before starting the processing.

We undertake all appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect your personal data against destruction, loss, accidental alteration, damage or disclosure. To ensure this safety, we make periodic backups.