The coast guard keeps an eye on the sea

Coast guard

News

  • 28.04.16
    Operation Opera 2016

    From April 20th until April 22th 2016 a number of coast guard partners joined forces for operation Opera. Teams of the maritime and river police, customs, sea fisheries service and FPS Public Health boarded the patrol vessel Pollux of the Belgian navy. Together, they carried out inspections off the Belgian coast, aided by the surveillance airplane of the Management Unit of the North Sea Mathematical Models (MUMM) and the Maritime Security Centre Belgium (MIK) in Zeebrugge.

    Three days of intensive cooperation resulted in approximately 300 administrative inspections and 9 physical inspections on board of different vessels, so called 'boardings'. In case of infractions or violations, an official warning was issued and /or a report filed. If you know that such boardings can easily take up to two hours and involve quite some paperwork, it is clear that our coast guard partners did a very good job. 

  • 27.04.16

    From 7 to 10 November 2016, our coast guard partner OD Nature of the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences and the Belgian Biodiversity Platform, organise the North Sea Open Science Conference 2016 in Ostend, Belgium. The call for Abstracts for this conference is now open and runs until May 1st 2016. Early bird registration runs until June 30th 2016.

    More information on www.naturalsciences.be

  • 13.04.16
    Weather forecast for the coast

    The Belgian coast has a so-called microclimate.  This means that the weather on the coast differs from the weather in the rest of the country. The sun shines more often and globally speaking, it rains less. On the other hand, in the summer temperatures are less high and there is more wind. The agency for Maritime Services and Coast (MDK) makes a special weather forecast for the coast. It is updated four times a day and split between the westcoast (De Panne to Oostende) and the eastcoast (Oostende to Knokke-Heist).

    You can also see webcam images of several coastal municipalities. Curious about the weater at sea? Surf to www.kustweerbericht.be or check the coastal weather forecast on your smartphone.

  • 11.04.16
    FPS Public Health

    Our coast guard partner FPS Public Health announces the launch of their revamped website. Do surf to the page about marine environment, where you will find interesting brochures and advice about how to best preserve the North Sea. 

    http://www.health.belgium.be/en

  • 25.03.16

    The consortium around Nobelwind announces the start of the construction on their new wind farm in Belgian territorial waters. The park, at approximately 45 kilometres off the coast of Zeebrugge, should be operational by 2017. Nobelwind has already installed its offshore grid which is operational and connected to the substation of the grid operator. The start of the works is running according to planning. March 23rd, the first foundation components arrived in the harbour of Oostende. 

    Oostende will be used as marshalling harbour. All foundation components will be assembled here. The first installation offshore is expected to start early May. 

    More information: www.nobelwind.eu

  • 24.03.16

    The structure coast guard expresses its condolences and solidarity with the victims of the attacks in Brussels and their families and loved ones. 

  • 21.03.16
    Table top exercise 2016

    Today, March 21st 2016, the last of three table top exercises took place to test the procedure for saving drowning persons before the start of the busy summer season. This procedure describes in detail which steps the different emergency services and coast guard partners take and how they work together. The participants, amongst whom a great number of coast guard partners, fill out on paper how they would operate on site. The exercises are held under the supervision of West-Flanders governor Carl Decaluwé and this year following coastal municipalities took part: De Haan, Koksijde and Knokke-Heist.

  • 18.03.16
    NH90

    To hold the position of rescue diver, the first requirement is to be a professional soldier. First you have to successfully complete the general training as petty officer. The maximum age to start with this four-year training is 33 years. After this training, a specific one-year diving training follows. 

    Obviously, you are expected to be in excellent shape. If you have diving experience prior to the start of the training, it is considered an advantage. After successfully completing the necessary training, you can be eligible for the function of rescue-diver with the 40SQN if there is a vacancy. 

    http://www.mil.be/nl/pagina/hoe-solliciteren 

  • 14.03.16

    Friday March 11th, the first meeting of the Coast Guard consultation body took place under the chairmanship of West-Flanders governor Carl Decaluwé.
    Our coast guard partner Customs presented the action plan for unorthodox landings of goods and a study concerning 'Canal at sea' was discussed briefly. Furthermore, the necessary attention was given to progress made with relation to enforcement and control activities. The calendar which contains all exercises held by coast guard partners was reviewed as well as the steps taken in completing the contigency plan for Mass Evacuation. To conclude, the coast guard partners had a look at the developments with regard to the coast guard centre.  

  • 29.10.15
    Castor ®Jorn Urbain


    After an intensive period of training, our coast guard partner Defense welcomed its two new patrol vessels, P901 Castor and P902 Pollux, as"Full Operational Capability" vessels. At the same time, their predecessor A950 Valcke was given a fitting send off. The Valcke performed numerous operations with regard to 'Action State at Sea" during its active career and helped ensure the maritime safety and security of Belgian coastal waters.

    The patrol vessels are available day and night for guard - and intervention operations in the Belgian Exclusive Economic Zone and the North Sea. In cooperation with other coast guard partners, the Castor and Pollux perform or help perform duties with regard to pollution control, fishery watch, police and customs tasks and search and rescue operations. Disaster reflief, as was the case with the sunk carrier Flinterstar, also falls within the scope of their range of duties.