News

05.02.20

Exciting days for the new Belgica

Let the countdown to February 11th begin. An exciting day for Belgium's marine research community, as the new research vessel Belgica II will be launched!
At the end of 2019 the bow thrusters and drop keels were installed. These past weeks, the vessel was given a paint job and is now dazzling white.

After more than 30 years of faithful service, the original RV Belgica was in dire need of replacement. It was decided to built a new, modern ánd multidisciplinary research vessel.
This brand new vessel will be operational end 2020 thanks to the cooperation between a number of our coastguard partners: the Royal Belgian Institute for Natural Sciences, the ministry of Defense and the Science Policy Office.

Follow the whole operation on facebook : facebook HowBigIsBelgica
28.05.19

Coast Guard Consultation Body

May 22nd the second meeting for 2019 of the Coast Guard Consultatation body took place in the official residence of West-Flanders governor Decaluwé. The consultation body brings together representatives of all coast guard partners. These representatives can be engineers, scientists, legal or nautical experts or operational personnel. The consultation body meets four times a year and is chaired by the governor of West-Flanders province. Items on the agenda were, among others, the extensive update of the Belgian Navigation Code, feedback on several international meetings dealing with various coast guard functions and a state of affiars on the MAiDEN project, which supports the further development of the Belgian coast guard centre.
25.03.19

Sandbank Blankenberge harbour

The storms along the Belgian coast from the last weeks created a huge sandbank blocking the harbour entrance to Blankenberge. The sandbank is located near the western palisade in front of the harbour entrance. At low tide part of the sandbank reaches out above the water surface. This might prove dangerous toshipping traffic going in and out. At high tide it is still possible, with particular caution, to sail in or out of the harbour. At low tide vessels going in or out are at risk of beaching.

Our coast guard partner agency for Maritime and Coastal Services (MDK) is doing its utmost to ensure that the sandbank will be removed. They hope to be able to start the works this week. Removing the entire sandbank is estimated to take up two to three weeks.
22.01.19

Tv-series on the Crisis Centre

Curious as to what our coast guard partner Crisis centre is up to? Now is your chance to find out. A brand new tv-series at Éen called 'De veiligheid van het land' gives you a fair idea of what goes on behind the scenes. Watch how policy-makers, government authorities and operational services all work together to ensure everyone's safety in Belgium, locals as well as visitors, from festival goer to king.
Starts on Monday January 28th, 21h30 at Één.
18.11.18

Behind the scenes at the NACGF 2018

Belgium had the honour of being the 2018 host to the North Atlantic Coast Guard Forum (NACGF). That meant organizing two conferences in one year. In spring for the expert meetings and in autumn for the summit meeting for a total of 160 participants from Belgium and abroad.
Curious about how we organized all that? Take a peek behind the scenes at the NACGF 2018.
16.11.18

Launch Compendium Coast and Sea

The Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ) launches the third edition of their Compendium for Coast and Sea on Friday 7 December 2018. The Compendium includes scientifically based and up-to-date information on the Belgian part of the North Sea and the Flemish coastal areas. The launch event takes places in De Grote Post in Ostend from 9:30 am to 12:30 pm and is open to marine scientists, policy makers, industry and other interested users or stakeholders of the sea and coast.
More information: www.vliz.be
13.11.18

Brochure coastal marinas

The brochure 'Marinas along the Flemish Coast', a realisation by our coast guard partner Coastal Division, got an update. It offers a comprehensive overview of the works that were executes in Ostend, Blankenberge, Zeebrugge and Nieuwpoort and the plans for the future. At Nieuwpoort an extra 500 berth will be created along the right bank, together with space designated for living, for shops and for restaurants and bars. A new bridge for pedestrians and cyclists will connect this new part of town with Nieuwpoort-centre. To prevent the further silting of the harbour channel in Blankenberge, a new and higher dam would offer a solution. The execution thereof is planned for the second half of 2019. Curious to read more? B rochure Marinas along the Flemish Coast.
23.08.18

Image database Coastal Heritage

Feeling nostalgic? Take a stroll through the rich past of the Belgianc coast on www.beeldbankkusterfgoed.be.

You will find a precious collection of olf pictures, postcards, drawings and posters from Middelkerke, Oostende, De Haan and Blankenberge. Currently, the database contains about 73.000 images. The intention is to expand the database even more and your help is appreciated. You can do so by uploading interesting images, but also by helping out as a volunteer with tracking down, digitalising and describing the images.
22.08.18

Coastal weather forecast

Planning a trip to the seaside in the coming days? Before you leave, do not forget to check the coastal weather forecast. That why you know immediately what to bring, your sunscreen or your umbrella. Our coast guard partner Coastal Division makes a special forecast for the coast and the sea. 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.
www.kustweerbericht.be
20.08.18

Summer sea newspaper 2018

An afternoon at the beach? An ideal time to browse throug the summer sea newspaper!
This is already the 11th year that the Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ) and West-Flanders province keep you informed about a wide range of marine-related subjects. Find out more about walrusses, microplastics and drowned Ostend. The newspaper also features a shell identification chart so that you can learn all the names of the shell at your feet.
You can get the newspaper at the VLIZ offices or at the visitor centres and tourism offices along the Belgian coast. Sadly, it is only available in Dutch, but that's a good motivation to work on your language skills, no?

www.vliz.be/nl/zeekrant