News

09.11.16

Replacement RV Belgica

On the 28th of October 2016, the Ministerial Council agreed to replace the research vessel RV Belgica, after a proposal by Secretary of State for Science Policy Elke Sleurs and Secretary of State for the North Sea Philippe De Backer.

The RV Belgica plays a substantial role in the Belgian marine scientific research. It was built in 1984 and has reached its maximum lifetime. That is why a structural solution for the replacement of the ship is of vital importance.

Our coast guard partner Federal Science Policy Office is the owner of the ship and puts it at the disposal of Belgian scientists wishing to carry out marine scientific research. Our coast guard partner the Belgian navy provides the crew, operational support and a berthing quay in the home port of Zeebrugge.

Good news for both these coast guard partners!

www.naturalsciences.be - www.mil.be

04.11.16

Where can I find information on the neccesary documents for my vessel?

Such questions can best be answered by our coast guard partner Federal Public Service (FPS) Mobility and Transport.
General phone number FPS Mobility and Transport: +32 (0)2 277 31 11 or mail to info@mobilit.fgov.be

Sea Fishery
Front office Sea Fishery
Natiënkaai 5
8400 Ostend

+32 (0)59/56 14 85
zeevisserij.oostende@mobilit.fgov.be
Open from Monday to Friday 9am -12am

Pleasure craft: certificates such as immatriculation,...

Front office pleasure craft Oostende	Front office pleassure craft Gent	Front office pleasure craft Brussel
Natiënkaai 5 8400 Oostende	Port Arthurlaan 12 9000 Gent	Vooruitgangstraat 56 1210 Brussel
registration.yachting@mobilit.fgov.be	registration.yachting@mobilit.fgov.be	registration.yachting@mobilit.fgov.be

Open on Tuesdays and Thursdays	Open on Tuesdays and Thursdays	Open on Tuesdays and Fridays
9am -11.45am	9am -11.45am	9am -11.45am

Attention: the front office pleasure craft in Antwerpen is closed permanently!

Merchant shipping: STCW, seaman's book,...

Front Office Vessel management Antwerpen
Posthoflei 5
2600 Antwerpen

+32 (0)3 286 68 90

Open on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays 9am-11.45am

27.10.16

100 stranded marine mammals in Belgium in 2015

In 2015 52 harbour porpoises and 45 seals stranded on the beach. The scientist of our coast guard partner Operational Directorate (OD) Natural Environment have put the information on stranded cetaceans in Belgium in a brochure. In 2015, relatively few strandings of harbour porpoises were reported. Sea Life Blankenberge took care of 19 seals and 26 dead or dying seals have been reported.

www.naturalsciences.be
24.10.16

Working area Flinterstar accessible again

Last month the salvage of the Flinterstar wreckage, the cargo vessel that sunk in 2015 after a collision with the gas-carrier Al-oraiq, was completed. Now the whole seabed has also been completely cleared. Some debris still remained, but has now been removed. This means that from October 13th, the working area around the Flinterstar, where large vessels, fishing vessels and pleasure craft were prohibited to enter, has now been released. This area is accessible again and vessels do no longer have to make a detour.

www.debacker.be

www.scheepvaartbegeleiding.be
18.10.16

Plenary Meeting European Coast Guard Functions Forum 2016

From 20 tot 22 September the secretary of the coast guard took part in the plenary meeting of the European Coast Guard Functions Forum in London. This forum, founded in 2009, has as its main goal to make coast guard related activities more coherent within the different member states and to promote mutual cooperation.

This year, the focus was primarily on the cooperation between the different agencies within the European Union, such as the recently inaugurated European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex). The chairmanship rotates between the participating countries, Belgium will host the forum in 2022.

More information on www.ecgff.eu
18.10.16

Large-scale MIRG exercise at sea

October 12th, a large-scale international exercise took place on the North Sea in which various coast guard partners as well as the coast guard secretariat took part. As much as 500 persons worked together to pull this exercise off. The scenario involved a fire outbreak on board a ferry carrying more than 200 passengers.

The perfect opportunity for several Maritime Incident Response Groups (MIRG) to put their training into practice. A MIRG team is made up of firefighters who are specifically trained to intervene quickly in the event of a distress situation on a ship in the high seas. Their main task is to avoid mass-evacuations. Belgium, the Netherlands, the UK and France all have MIRG teams, and they all participated to the exercise.

Thanks to the shipping police for the photos.
11.10.16

Certificate of registration for pleasure craft online from now on

The application for a certificate of registration for pleasure craft or the renewal thereof can now be handled completely online. An e-service was created for this purpose and the status of the application can be followed online. This way, you no longer have to stand in line and the application can be handled more efficiently.

You can find the e-service on the website of our coast guard partner Federal Public Service (FPS) Mobility and Transport: http://mobilit.belgium.be/nl/scheepvaart/pleziervaart/vaartuig/vlaggenbrief
10.10.16

Information session pilot with the ministry of Defence

Have you always dreamt of being a pilot with the ministry of Defence? October 12th an information session on the differrent aspects of the formation and profession of a pilot takes place in the air base in Beauvechain.

Are you interested in another function with the Air component of our coast guard partner the ministry of Defence? Another information session is planned, one week later on Wednesday 19 October, also in Beauvechain.

All information on www.mil.be
30.09.16

Job fair wind and maritime industry

Looking for a job and interested in wind and water? Sunday October 2nd there is a job fair in Ostend which focuses on vacancies of firms active in the on - and offshore wind industry and maritime industry.

From 10am to 3pm- Greenbridge, Wetenschapspark 1, Oostende

All information on www.portofoostende.be
16.09.16

Polex exercise 31 Aug 16

August 31st, the Zeetijger of our coast guard partner Fleet received an urgent distress call to assist with an oil-combating operation in a windmill park. The exercise was coordinated by our coast guard partner Federal Public Service (FPS) Public Health. This was a perfect opportunity to test their new anti-oilpollution equipment on board the Zeetijger. Our coast guard partner Defence also participated to the exercise with the patrol vessel Pollux and the coast guard partners Civil Protection and Public Planning Service (PPS) Science Policy Office - Management Unit of the North Sea Mathmematical Models (MUMM) also offered their support.

Pictures: www.welkombijvloot.be