Category: MUMM

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Science and industry join hands to investigate environmental challenges of floating solar at sea

To meet our society’s growing need for renewable energy, the potential of offshore solar power generation is being explored today. However, the technology has yet to be further developed, and we must ensure that this is done with respect for the marine environment. In the EcoMPV project, technological developments and environmental research go hand in hand. By working together in this pilot project, science and industry will learn to understand the impact of floating solar panels on the offshore environment and be able to avoid or mitigate their effects as much as possible from the start of potential commercial initiatives. The insights gained will allow positive effects to be immediately reinforced. The installation of three experimental modules at sea was completed on 28 June.

The growing need for the local production of renewable energy and an acceleration of the energy transition, combined with land scarcity, is leading policymakers, industry and scientists to increasingly focus on offshore sites. To date, renewable energy production at sea mainly involves wind farms. Belgium developed into one of the international frontrunners in this field.

Meanwhile, more attention is being paid to emerging opportunities to generate solar power at sea as well. The complementarity of wind and solar technology has been confirmed all over the world. As authorities increasingly promote multi-use of marine space, and the offshore grid infrastructure shows good potential for combined use, the integration of offshore floating solar installations in current and future offshore wind sites presents an opportunity to produce large volumes of additional renewable energy. However, both the technology and the knowledge on environmental impacts of floating solar are still in their infancy.

Artist impression of SeaVolt’s design for offshore floating solar energy

Environmental challenges

In the project EcoMPV (Eco-designing Marine Photovoltaic Installations), scientists and industrial partners work together to deepen the knowledge about environmental challenges related to offshore floating photovoltaic (PV) installations, aiming at technical solutions to mitigate undesired consequences and maximise beneficial impacts.

Knowledge gaps will be addressed about (1) altered underwater light field, hydrodynamics, pelagic biogeochemistry and primary production, (2) the artificial habitat provision for colonising fauna and fish, and (3) effects on carbon fluxes and sequestration. Furthermore, advice for eco-designing offshore PV installations, paving the way to its environmental licensing, will be formulated.

Preparing for the first floating PV installations

On 24 May, 28 May and 28 June 2023, scientists from the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (RBINS) installed three experimental ‘littoral modules’ at the edge of the Mermaid offshore wind farm in the operational Belgian offshore energy zone. These floating modules are equipped with settlement plates in various materials, to study the colonisation potential for marine fauna and the habitat provisioning of artificial floating structures, including offshore floating PV systems.

Installation of an experimental ‘littoral module’ at the edge of the Mermaid offshore wind farm on 24 May 2023 with the RV Belgica. (© RBINS/MARECO)

The modules were designed and developed by Jan De Nul Group in collaboration with RBINS, with support of the EMBRC Belgium (European Marine Biological Resource Centre). The installation was carried out on board the RV Belgica and the Zeetijger, and they will remain in the water for around 1.5 year. The modules will be monitored at regular intervals to follow up the colonization process.

The location for the experimental tests has been chosen to be as similar as possible to the Princess Elisabeth Zone (PEZ), which is designated as a new zone for offshore renewable energy production in the Belgian Marine Spatial Plan 2020-2026. Although the focus of the PEZ remains mainly on offshore wind, seeking combination with floating solar panels seems promising.

Vincent Van Quickenborne, Minister for the North Sea: “With EcoMPV, important steps are being taken to also correctly assess the environmental impact of floating solar panels. This is important. The potential of floating solar panels is estimated to be high. If we want to use them later on a commercial scale, it is necessary to also take into account their effects on the marine environment in order to avoid or mitigate them as much as possible. With this, Belgium once again shows that economy and ecology go hand in hand.”

Tinne Van der Straeten, Minister for Energy: “In our country, we have the brainpower and the will to work out solutions to the challenges of the future. With the Energy Transition Fund, we want to kick-start those solutions. The federal government is supporting 21 top projects including EcoMPV. Floating solar panels at sea are part of the solution to make our North Sea the largest green power plant in Europe. EcoMPV shows once again that we can count on Belgian know-how and expertise for those solutions.”

About EcoMPV

EcoMPV is financed by the Energy Transition Fund of the FPS Economy, AD Energy, started in November 2022 and will run for three years. The project is coordinated by the research team ‘Marine Ecology and Management’ of the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (RBINS), with Ghent University as a scientific partner and Tractebel, Jan De Nul Group and DEME Group as industrial partners.

The objectives of EcoMPV are the following:

  • Increase the knowledge on the effects of floating PV structures on hydrodynamics and phytoplankton productivity;
  • Investigate the habitat provision by floating structures to marine life, including colonising fauna and attraction by fish;
  • Describe effects of colonising fauna (fouling) of floating structures on the surrounding sediments, including the burial and sequestration (storage) of carbon in sediments;

Provide input on the Nature-inclusive design of floating PV systems, based on the results of the previous objectives, as to ensure the environmental sustainability of these systems.

Installation of an experimental ‘littoral module’ at the edge of the Mermaid offshore wind farm on 24 May 2023 with the RV Belgica. (© RBINS/MARECO)

The Energy Transition Fund saw the light of day in 2017, aiming to support energy transition research, development and innovation. A total of 51 proposals were received following the November 2022 project call. Of these, 21 were selected to be considered for grants. Through the fund, the expertise of companies and start-ups will be tapped to accelerate the energy transition.

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Multiple discharges into the North Sea in recent weeks

Over the past few weeks, the surveillance aircraft of the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (RBINS) documented a remarkable number of pollutions at sea. Especially in terms of oil pollution, these go against the trend of recent years. The observations illustrate the great importance of aerial surveillance over the sea.

On 20 June, a fishing vessel was caught red-handed while discharging oil in the Belgian Exclusive Economic Zone.

On 27 June, a large oil slick was observed but no polluter could be identified. This is one of the largest oil spills that did not result from an accident in Belgian waters in the past 15 years. The minimum volume discharged was estimated at 1.6 tonnes of oil.

General view of the large oil slick documented on 27 June 2023 (© RBINS/MUMM)
Detail of the large oil slick documented on 27 June 2023 (© RBINS/MUMM)

A day later, two ships were observed carrying out tank cleaning activities, resulting in discharges of vegetable oil and derivatives into the water. Whether or not these were legal will have to be determined by a port inspection. The discharge from one of the two tankers was initially detected in the morning by a European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) satellite. When the surveillance aircraft checked the vessel several hours later, it was found that the tanker’s tank cleaning operation was still in progress.

Detail of the contamination found on 28 June 2023 (© RBINS/MUMM)

In none of these cases was there a risk of the contaminants washing up on the coast.

Against the trend

The observed oil spills in recent days are in sharp contrast to the general trend shown by the results of 30 years of Belgian aerial surveillance. These illustrate that marine oil pollution has become a rare observed phenomenon in the last decade. The number of discharges of noxious liquid substances other than oil did experience a slight increase in recent years, with 2022 being the year with the highest number of observed discharges (averaged per flight hour) since observations began in 1991. Despite the fact that most of these discharges are probably legal, in line with international discharge standards, they nevertheless involve fluids that can be harmful to the marine environment to very varying degrees.

The observations in recent weeks should not necessarily cause us concern, as it may be due to coincidence that several offenders were active in Belgian North Sea waters in a short time span. However, these results do show that further close monitoring and enforcement remains required, both at sea and ashore. And so, also in the air, a fast-operating surveillance platform remains an absolute necessity.

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DEHEAT 2023/03 – Hvalfjördur – In search of water

26 June 2023 – There is pleasant excitement on the RV Belgica this morning, as the ship leaves Reykjavik harbour and steams to the first sampling station. No far journey ahead, as the first days of the expedition will be spent in a fjord just north of the Icelandic capital. The fjord in question is the Hvalfjördur, literally translated as the ‘whale fjord’. It only takes less than two hours to arrive at station HF3, which gets the scoop of being the first to be sampled. That first sampling is always a crucial moment, as it is definitely better for morale to start with a success. However, only one thing is certain at this point: the weather will certainly not be a killjoy! The water is calm, the wind absent, and there is pleasant sunshine.

RV Belgica sails into Hvalfjördur.

The DEHEAT campaign kicks off with a CTD deployment, which will become the regular start of activities at each sampling site. CTD stands for conductivity, temperature and depth, parameters that are measured by sensors that are incorporated in a construction that further includes 24 so-called Niskin bottles arranged in a rosette. For simplicity, we refer to the whole thing simply as ‘CTD’.

The rosette with 24 Niskin-bottles and CTD-sensors leaves the dedicated CTD-hangar of RV Belgica.

The CTD-construction is an essential oceanography instrument. As the CTD descends through the water column to just above the bottom, the depth and the changes in temperature, salinity and oxygen content of the water can be monitored in real time on a computer screen. Depending on the course of these parameters, the scientists will decide at which depths water samples will be taken. That is where the Niskin bottles come in, as they can be closed remotely one by one with a simple mouse click. This is done during the rosette’s journey back to the surface.

Real-time monitoring of temperature, salinity and oxygen content to determine at what depths the various Niskin bottles will be closed.

During the first trip of the CTD to the bottom and back up, the wet lab where the computer on which the CTD parameters are monitored was particularly crowded. Everyone wanted to personally witness the very first data that appeared during the DEHEAT expedition. In the following days, this moment will be much less attended. Of course, this has nothing to do with a loss of interest but is entirely due to the fact that during the very first CTD, no other activities had yet started. Things will be very different at subsequent stations, and the timing of activity from different scientists will also be increasingly divergent as a result.

A very busy wet lab during the first CTD measurements.

Later, it will therefore mainly be some regular faces who will be present at every CTD, make the decisions on water sampling and close the Niskin bottles. Besides DEHEAT chief scientist Sebastiaan van de Velde, the permanent CTD team consists of Kate, Lei and Felipe. It is also they who will eventually sample the contents of the Niskin bottles in different ways for different purposes.

A decent administration is involved as everyone on board wants their share of the water, and one water turns out not to be the other … There is a need to collect samples for determining alkalinity, dissolved inorganic carbon, nutrients, Silicium, metals, oxygen, Magnesium & Strontium, salinity, … and all of these samples are needed in different volumes, need to be stored in different recipients, require different processing and need to be brought to different places on the ship. To complicate matters further, some samples have to be collected only in the fjord, or later only on the shelf, or only at certain depths, and various expedition participants come with large or even larger bottles to get their share of water as well …

The important task of keeping record, not only for CTD sampling but for just about all samples taken during the expedition, falls to Kate Hendry. Kate is an ocean climate scientist, chemical oceanographer or biogeochemist at the British Antarctic survey. She is part of the science and steering groups of DEHEAT, and has also been designated as the expedition’s second chief scientist.

Kate Hendry (British Antarctic Survey) serves as co-chief scientist and general data manager during the DEHEAT expedition with RV Belgica.

Kate explains what that means: “The co-chief scientist position involves being there as a sanity check and a sounding board for the chief scientist. On an expedition like this, there is a lot to think about and keep an eye on, and there are a lot of important decisions to be made. My task is to come up with ideas, suggestions, alternatives, solutions to any problems that may arise. But to be honest, Sebastiaan is doing such a great job, so it’s not been too bad for me at all, it’s all running very smoothly”.

On the task of keeping track of all that’s going on, she adds: “Next to the science, I’m focusing on the data management, looking after the paperwork, making sure everything is archived. The last thing you want is some critical paperwork going missing, so I make sure everything is scanned and archived. This sometimes turns out to be even useful months or years after a cruise, when something confuses or puzzles people, creating a need to go back to the vital original logs”.

Back to the CTD sampling now. Felipe Sales de Freitas, chemical/geochemical oceanographer and postdoctoral researcher at the Université Libre de Bruxelles, is directly involved in the DEHEAT project and takes care of what can be considered the ‘small volume CTD sampling’ for a whole range of goals, most of which require the water from the Niskin bottles to be filtered.

“But first we have to go through the sacred ritual of rinsing every recipient or sampling tool three times with the actual water that is going to be sampled” he laughingly explains. “Next, we squeeze water through syringes and filters until our thumbs are completely cramped”.

Felipe further explains his role in the DEHEAT Belgica expedition as follows: “In this expedition, I am basically an extra pair of hands in various sampling actions because of my experience in field sampling and analysis. Later on, I will use a lot of the output data of the sediment coring and water analysis for the DEHEAT geochemical modelling”.

Felipe Sales de Freitas (ULB) during the processing of CTD water samples.

Lei Chou, meanwhile, drags larger containers back and forth between the Niskin bottles and a more sophisticated filter setup that she provided herself, that is better suited to filtering larger volumes. She is a marine biogeochemist and emeritus professor of the Université Libre de Bruxelles and remains active and connected to both research and training of students.

Lei had very little time to prepare for the DEHEAT expedition but is making the most of it: “I was offered a berth on RV Belgica only weeks before the start of the expedition when a place suddenly opened due to the cancellation of another participant. I had to move quickly, sending two suitcases of equipment to Reykjavik as the Belgica had already left its home port of Zeebruges. After all, I want to take the opportunity to collect additional samples for suspended matter content, nutrients, metals and chlorophyll to complement the already very ambitious DEHEAT plan”.

Lei Chou (ULB) during the processing of CTD water samples.

We can rest assured that Icelandic seawater will hold far fewer secrets after the analysis of the DEHEAT samples.

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DEHEAT 2023/02 – Prepping for Iceland

25 June 2023, 17h00 – It would be untrue to claim that preparations for an expedition at sea begin on the day participants embark. In reality, the preparations have been going on for a very long time, from thinking out the concept, writing the project proposal, preparing and submitting the application to use the chosen ship, to the concrete practical preparation of the expedition.

That last step is a titanic task, especially for an expedition with a large international character like the DEHEAT expedition. After all, materials had to be sent from various European locations to Zeebrugge and Reykjavik, everything had to be given a logical place on board, and a whole range of sampling equipment and laboratories also had to be prepared and set up so that they could be fired up into action immediately after the start of the actual expedition. In fact, a number of scientists already came on board in Galway for this purpose, to make the necessary preparations during transit from Ireland to Iceland.

But today the big day has finally arrived: all the scientists who will take part in the DEHEAT Iceland expedition are now casting their first glance at the RV Belgica, discovering the ship on which they will spend 17 nights and spend the intervening days giving their best.

RV Belgica in the harbour of Reykjavik, Iceland, 24 June 2023 (© RBINS/K. Moreau)

There are 22 of them, coming from universities and institutes from Belgium, the UK, Germany, Denmark and Sweden, but representing many more different nationalities. Some have worked together before during previous collaborations, but there are also many new faces.

No superfluous luxury to compile a photo overview with names, which immediately also makes it clear to the RV Belgica’s regular crew who is who. The overview is hung in the mess, just about the only place on board where everyone passes a few times every day. That way, everyone should see it regularly and be able to quickly connect names to the many faces!

The motley crew taking care of scientific duties during the DEHEAT adventure in Icelandic waters with the RV Belgica (© RBINS/K. Moreau)

Setting sail is not scheduled until tomorrow morning, but the first evening on board is immediately filled with great meaning. First of all, there is the necessary safety briefing by chiefmate Sam, during which everyone is informed on the various safety procedures and the expected conduct on board. We also all had to squeeze ourselves into a rescue suit, which at times produced hilarious scenes.

Also DEHEAT chief scientist Sebastiaan does not escape fitting the rescue suit 😉 (© RBINS/K. Moreau)

Next: the scientific order of the day. Chief scientist Sebastiaan summarises the set-up of the DEHEAT project, focusing of course on the crucial role of the RV Belgica expedition. Also the course and activities of the first sampling day are reviewed in detail.

Detailed review of the plans for the first sampling day of the expedition (© RBINS/K. Moreau)

Not only the deck, but also the RV Belgica’s labs will be fully staffed during this expedition. Proper organisation is indispensable to ensure everyone can work efficiently. Laboratory manager Astrid therefore takes the floor to explain the procedures and make proper arrangements.

Lab manager Astrid explains lab procedures (© RBINS/K. Moreau)

Enough for the first evening now! Let’s all take advantage of the last night which we can be sure is set in a stable environment.

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DEHEAT 2023/01 – Using the ocean to reduce carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere

First RV Belgica Mission to the Far North

On 26 June 2023, an international team of scientists embarked on the first arctic mission of the new Belgian oceanographic research vessel RV Belgica. They boarded in the Icelandic capital Reykjavik and will spend 16 days in the fjords and on the continental shelf of Iceland investigating the possibilities of reducing the concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide by enhancing the weathering of silicates in the ocean. This process has potential to contribute to the active mitigation of the ongoing global warming.

RV Belgica (© Freire Shipyard)

Climate change is one of the biggest global challenges of the 21st century and urgently requires ambitious, transformative, and collective action to limit global warming. In 2015, representatives from 196 countries gathered at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris and signed a historic agreement to limit the increase in global average temperature to below 2 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels.

Meanwhile, however, emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) still continue to rise and have reached atmospheric concentrations that are unprecedented in at least the last 800.000 years. Humanity is now at the point where preventing emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases to the atmosphere – the “conventional mitigation” – is no longer enough to achieve the ambitious goal. We also need to actively remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere using negative emission technologies to meet the targets set in the 2015 Paris Agreement.

Enhanced Silicate Weathering

One promising approach among negative emission technologies is Enhanced Silicate Weathering. This process takes advantage of the natural weathering of silicate minerals, whereby silicate dissolution consumes atmospheric carbon dioxide and therefore helps to remove it from the atmosphere.

The concept of marine Enhanced Silicate Weathering involves distributing silicate minerals onto the seafloor of coastal oceans. Recent experiments have indicated that weathering can be accelerated in this way. The idea is that the increased availability of silicates, leading to a higher alkalinity of the ocean (a higher capacity of the water to resist acidification), will enhance the uptake of carbon dioxide, thereby reducing atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations.

DEHEAT

However, it is still uncertain whether the high weathering rates observed in experiments actually occur in natural environments and how efficient the process would be in drawing down carbon dioxide. To address these uncertainties, a group of researchers from the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (RBINS), University of Antwerp and Université libre de Bruxelles joined forces in the project DEHEAT ‐ Natural analogues and system‐scale modeling of marine enhanced silicate weathering.

“We aim at examining, for the first time, the feasibility and efficiency of Enhanced Silicate Weathering under marine conditions, taking advantage of the coastal ocean as a large‐scale, natural biogeochemical reactor” says DEHEAT-coordinator Sebastiaan van de Velde, of University of Antwerp and RBINS. “A second critical issue concerns the potential side‐effects on marine ecosystems, both positive and negative”, he adds.

With RV Belgica to Iceland

To shed light on these critical knowledge gaps, the DEHEAT-team put together a dedicated scientific expedition aboard the new Belgian research vessel RV Belgica to quantify the sediment geochemistry and mineralogy at a site that serves as a natural analogue for Enhanced Silicate Weathering: the continental shelf of Iceland, which is rich in basalt. Basalt is a volcanic rock that is suitable for the envisaged research in terms of silica content and weathering speed, so Iceland is an ideal place to visit in order to reach the objectives of DEHEAT.

DEHEAT sampling locations around Iceland during the 2023 Belgica expedition (© Google Maps 2023 – TerraMetrics 2023, DEHEAT)

The team, led by Sebastiaan van de Velde and expanded with scientific expertise under the form of colleagues and equipment of Ghent University, the British Antarctic Survey (United Kingdom), Universität Bonn (Germany), University of Southern Denmark (Denmark) and University of Gothenburg (Sweden), embarked on RV Belgica on Monday 26 June in the Icelandic capital Reykjavik. They will spend 16 days in fjords and on the Icelandic continental shelf and will return to Reykjavik on 11 July 2023.

During the expedition, the highly international and interdisciplinary team not only samples water, drills into the seafloor of Iceland and measures weathering rates in the sediment but also employs computer models to simulate seafloor weathering rates around Iceland. The collected data will then inform a large-scale virtual application of Enhanced Silicate Weathering in the Belgian North Sea using the COHERENS shelf sea model, that is designed for a wide range of applications in coastal and shelf areas and of which the development is led by researchers of RBINS.

During daily briefings in the conference room of RV Belgica, DEHEAT lead researcher Sebastiaan van de Velde (central back) evaluates the work of the day and informs all scientists on the sampling actions and experiments that are planned for the next day.

A Northern First

The scientific team’s ability to carry out this mission follows from the fact that the new research vessel Belgica is equipped for such interdisciplinary research and has a high enough autonomy to remain at sea uninterrupted for a sufficiently long time. From the moment the ‘new RV Belgica’ concept was conceived, bringing Arctic waters within the scope of Belgian and European research was an important objective. In this context, the documentation and research of climate change and the development of climate change mitigation measures were obviously key objectives, among other goals. To enable operations at the edge of the pack ice during the summer season, the RV Belgica even has light ice reinforcement.

RV Belgica’s northern journey to Iceland does not stand alone. Indeed, the ship left her home port of Zeebrugge as early as 6 June, first completing an expedition led by Ghent University’s Renard Centre of Marine Geology in which the sedimentary processes (past & present) offshore southwestern Ireland were studied, including in the area of the Belgica mounds (steep-flanked underwater mountains that were discovered using the previous Belgica). After a short stop in Galway (Ireland) and the transit to Reykjavik, the DEHEAT-leg of the international adventure kicked off. Next, RV Belgica will transit to Greenland where yet another scientific team will embark under the lead of the Marine Biology Research Group of Ghent University. They will investigate how climate change, and more specifically changes in glacial melt, will affect the carbon dynamics, biological communities and food webs in Greenlandic fjords, a typical Arctic marine ecosystem (project CANOE). The return of RV Belgica to Zeebrugge is foreseen for 13 August.

 

DEHEAT (as well as CANOE) is funded by the Belgian Science Policy Office (BELSPO) as beneficiary of a specific call that was designed to give an impulsion to the start-up of research on the new RV Belgica and to allow researchers to get to know the ship and her potential. DEHEAT runs from 15 December 2021 to 15 March 2026.

More information on RV Belgica can be consulted at the ship’s websites at RBINS (including live position information and webcam images) and BELSPO. The ship and its scientific activities can also be followed on Facebook and Twitter.

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North Sea aerial surveillance in 2022

In 2022, the aerial surveillance team of the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences realised 244 flight hours over the North Sea. 19 cases of operational marine pollution from ships were observed, two involving oil and 17 other harmful substances. Suspicious sulphur levels were measured in the smoke plumes of 47 ships and suspicious nitrogen levels on 35 ships. The aircraft successfully participated in an internationally coordinated surveillance mission of the offshore oil and gas installations and an international chemical pollution detection mission. Furthermore, two seasonal marine mammal surveys were carried out, and the aircraft realised several ‘on call’ flights that included support to rescue transmigrants at sea. Navigation violations, entering prohibited zones and sailing without the mandatory automatic identification system were reported more in 2022 than before.

The surveillance aircraft in action over the navy vessel P902 POLLUX during a national pollution response exercise POLEX. (© Belgian Navy)

As part of the national aerial surveillance programme, 244 hours were flown over the North Sea in 2022. This programme is organised by the Scientific Service MUMM (Management Unit of the Mathematical Model of the North Sea) of the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, in collaboration with Defence.

The majority of flight hours were national flights (220 hours). Of these, 211.5 hours were performed in the context of the Belgian Coast Guard. Pollution control came convincingly first (164 hours), with both monitoring of discharges of oil, other harmful substances and waste into the water (MARPOL Annex I, II and V respectively) and monitoring of sulphur and nitrogen emissions from ships into the air (enforcement of MARPOL Annex VI). Fisheries monitoring was also covered (42.5 hours on behalf of the Flemish Sea Fisheries Service), the aircraft was called up several times to verify marine pollution, to support transmigration rescue operations in French waters, and to locate lost Search-and-Rescue equipment (3 hours), and two hours of air support was provided during pollution control exercises. 8.5 hours were devoted to marine mammal monitoring.

International flights under the Bonn Agreement accounted for 24 flight hours in 2022 (see below: a Tour d’horizon mission and participation in the MANIFESTS Sea Trials).

Spills from ships

In August 2022, a few oil slicks were observed in the UK waters off Ramsgate during several flights, likely from a spill in the fuel tank of an old shipwreck. The case thus qualified as an accidental spill, and several British ships were involved in the clean-up. There was no direct impact on Belgian waters.

Two operational oil spills were identified in 2022, confirming the decreasing trend of the last decade (see graph). The first, very weathered, oil spill was observed at the estuary of the Western Scheldt in Dutch waters. The oil slick was not combatable and could not be linked to a polluter. The second oil slick was more limited and was observed in the Westhinder Anchorage area. It appeared to be linked to a bulk carrier at anchor. However, a check at sea by the Maritime Police revealed no new elements that could confirm the suspicion of infringement.

The number of observed oil spills per flight hour has dropped to almost zero. (@ RBINS/MUMM)

2022 resulted in no violations against the requirements of Annex V of the MARPOL Convention which covers the discharge of garbage and solid bulk substances. However, as many as 17 cases of operational pollution by noxious liquid substances other than oil (MARPOL Annex II) were observed. One of these could be linked to a ship in UK waters. The case was handed over to the relevant UK authorities for verification and follow-up.

In contrast to oil pollution, other noxious liquid substances are still a common problem, even on a slight upward trend (see graph). Although these are often, but not always, authorised ship discharges in accordance with international discharge standards, stricter discharge standards have been in force since 2021. This is particularly so for so-called ‘persistent floaters’ such as paraffin-like substances. However, no violations were detected on these in 2022.

Contaminants with other noxious substances follow a slight upward trend. (@ RBINS/MUMM)

Three oil slicks were also observed in Belgian ports: two in the port of Antwerp and one in that of Ostend. The two oil slicks in the port of Antwerp were observed during transit flights from Antwerp airport (the home base of the aircraft) to the North Sea. One of these two detections involved a group of three smaller slicks with five different ships in the vicinity. The spots could not be clearly linked to any of these ships. The other slick was spotted at the Antwerp gas terminal during a bunkering operation. The oil slick observed in the port of Ostend concerned a small slick with no polluter and was too limited to combat. All observations were immediately reported to the competent authorities to ensure follow-up.

Oil pollution in the port of Antwerp. (© RBINS/MUMM)

Monitoring of emissions to the air from ships at sea

By using a sniffer sensor in the aircraft, our country is considered a pioneer in the international fight against the air pollution from ships at sea (monitoring and enforcement of annex VI of the MARPOL convention). The sensor allows the measurement of various air pollutants in the exhaust of ships in real conditions.

The measurement of sulphur emissions has already been part of the programme since 2016. In order to monitor the strict sulphur limits that apply to ship fuel in the North Sea Emission Control Area (ECA), 61 sniffer flights (for a total of 91 hours) were carried out by the aircraft in 2022 over the Belgian monitoring area. Of the 965 ships whose sulphur emissions were measured, 47 had a suspiciously high sulphur content. These ships were duly reported to the relevant maritime inspection services and 13 were subsequently inspected on shore.

Belgian Coast Guard aircraft in operation during a ‘sniffer’ flight. (© RBINS/MUMM)

Thanks to the successful integration of a NOx sensor in 2020, MUMM’s aircraft can also measure the concentration of nitrogen compounds (NOx) in the exhaust plumes of ships in order to monitor and enforce the stricter limits that apply from 1 January 2021 in the North Sea Emission Control Area. Belgium has thus become the first country ready to monitor these stricter restrictions. Of the 963 ships for which nitrogen emissions were monitored in 2022, 35 suspicious values were reported.

Since 2021, a new sensor has been added to the sniffer set-up, namely the black carbon sensor. This sensor measures the amount of black carbon in the exhaust plumes of ships, which is a measure for the soot concentration. The soot concentration of 182 ships was measured in 2022. When exceptionally high soot concentrations are measured, the competent maritime port authorities are asked to take a sample of the fuel used. In 2023, these fuel samples will be analysed in the OD Nature laboratories in Ostend.

Exhaust plume of a container ship. (© RBINS/MUMM)

International missions

During the annual international ‘Tour d’Horizon‘ mission to monitor marine pollution from oil rigs in the central North Sea (in Dutch, Danish, British and Norwegian offshore waters), carried out under the Bonn Agreement in September 2022, the surveillance aircraft detected a total of 16 spills, of which 15 were oil spills and 1 was a spill of an unknown substance that could not be visually verified due to a low cloud ceiling. 13 spills could be directly linked to an oil platform. The three remaining slicks were observed without ships or platforms in the vicinity. All these observations were systematically reported to the competent coastal State for further follow-up, in accordance with international procedures.

Oil spill connected to an offshore oil installation during the Tour d’Horizon in 2022. (© RBINS/MUMM)

From 30 May to 2 June, the Belgian air surveillance participated in the international MANIFESTS Sea Trials for the detection of chemical pollution in Brittany (France). Participation in such exercises is crucial as pollution by substances other than oil appears to be increasing in frequency (see above), a large number of different chemicals are transported, each with a specific behaviour at sea, and regulations are very complex. During the MANIFESTS Sea Trials, various sensors on ships and flying units were tested at sea for their ability to identify different substances. The Belgian aerial surveillance aircraft made a constructive contribution, on which scientists can further optimise the sensors to better monitor chemical discharges in the future.

The mission in Brittany was combined with air emission monitoring at the border of the Emission Control Area, located at the entrance to the English Channel. Among other things, ships here have to switch to low-sulphur fuels. Sixty-two were checked, 18 of them in the immediate vicinity of the ECA border. Six of these 18 ships showed suspicious sulphur levels, and two high NOx emissions. These preliminary results illustrate that more monitoring at the ECA border is needed to improve MARPOL Annex VI enforcement.

Chemical slick. (© RBINS/MUMM)

Monitoring of Marine Mammals

In 2022, the RBINS conducted marine mammals surveys in March and October. Respectively, 235 and 45 harbour porpoises were observed, resulting in average concentrations of 3.3 and 0.8 animals per km² of observed area. This is a lot of harbour porpoises for a surface area similar to that of Belgian waters, yet largely overlapping: over 11,000 in March and over 2,000 in October. A relatively high number of seals were also observed in 2022: 20 in March and 40 in October. There has never been so many.

Observations during the March 2022 campaign: harbour porpoises in red and seals in yellow. (© RBINS/MUMM)

Extended maritime surveillance in the framework of the Coast Guard

Within the framework of the cooperation within the Belgian Coast Guard, the surveillance aircraft also contributes to broader missions of enforcement of maritime regulations and safety at sea. For example, in 2022, air operators reported 46 navigation violations to the Coast Guard Centre and the Directorate-General of Shipping (FPS Mobility and Transport). These mainly involved vessels ‘ghost sailing’ or anchoring in shipping lanes. As this type of infringement is on the rise, resulting in an increased risk of collisions, DG Shipping has been providing specific legal follow-up since January 2023.

In addition, 11 violations were also reported last year regarding entering areas at sea surrounded by a safety perimeter (e.g. the wind farms). This is also an increasing number, which can be explained, among other things, by the introduction of some new prohibited areas, such as the aquaculture farm (sea farm) off the coast of Nieuwpoort and the calibration area for scientific instruments off Ostend.

Intrusion of three fishing vessels into the safety perimeter of the Oostdyck radar tower. (© RBINS/MUMM)

Finally, in 2022, no less than 17 ships were also observed sailing without Automatic Identification System (AIS), which, among other things, helps to prevent collisions. 16 of these cases involved fishing vessels. Again, this is a further increase in a regrettable trend.

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SEADETECT: Reducing ship strikes with whales

As part of the SEADETECT project financed by the EU LIFE programme, the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences will contribute to the development and validation of an automated detection system of marine mammals to prevent collisions between ships and cetaceans.

A fin whale gets stuck on the bulbous bow of a ship after a collision, arriving in the port of Ghent with it in November 2015. (© RBINS/J. Haelters)

Today, global economy is mainly based on maritime traffic which represents 80% of world trade in volume and 70% in value. This intense traffic involves a growing number of ships moving ever faster through the world’s seas and oceans, which markedly increases the risk of collision with cetaceans.

Collisions between vessels and whales often result in the death of the animals. In recent decades, shipping traffic in combination with the increased speed of individual ships has led to a doubling of the number of fatal collisions. Several studies have shown ship strikes to be the leading cause of death of cetaceans in some areas. For instance, ship strikes are the highest form of mortality for fin whales and sperm whales in the Pelagos Sanctuary in the Mediterranean Sea, an area for which France, Monaco and Italy concluded an agreement to protect marine mammals.

In the arctic, climate change is predicted to result in increased exposure of vulnerable cetacean species to collision risk. Worldwide, reductions in collision mortality will benefit whale populations which are still recovering from the effects of historic over-hunting, and continue to suffer from human induced habitat degradation.

Faced with this situation, the SEADETECT project is developing a new solution that should enable vessels to reduce collisions with cetaceans by 80%.

Preventing ship strikes

Collisions are often due to a combination of three factors: the ability to detect, the reaction time of the crew and the time it takes to maneuver the ship, all depending on the size and speed of the ship and the state of the sea. The SEADETECT project will develop three systems to reduce such collisions:

  • A system on board ships that will detect unidentified objects, in particular marine mammals, in real time.
  • A network of passive acoustic monitoring buoys located in high-risk areas at sea that will determine and triangulate the position of cetaceans in real time.
  • Detection data sharing software, fed by the future detections, to inform vessels in the area about the risk of hazards.
Set-up of the SEADETECT project for automated detection of marine mammals and obstacles, and anti-collision system for vessels. (© SEADETECT)

RV Belgica as pilot platform

“The automatic detection and anti-collision system will be used in the existing multi-sensory infrastructure of the national oceanographic research vessel RV Belgica and will be validated by scientists of the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences during the expeditions and monitoring campaigns of the ship”, Bob Rumes of the RBINS Marine Ecology and Management team (MARECO) clarifies.

The automatic detection and anti-collision system will autonomously detect cetaceans but also obstacles or floating objects such as containers to prevent collisions with ships. Thanks to a high-performance data fusion and processing system, this solution will make it possible to detect in real time a 2-metre long object on the surface at a distance of 1km, by day and night, even in complex maritime conditions (strong sea states or bad weather conditions). In addition, the researchers will also investigate the impact of a general application of this detection and anti-collision system on several target species as an alternative to other possible measures.

The RV Belgica will also be used as a test platform in SEADETECT. (©Belgian Navy/J. Urbain)

The SEADETECT project, led by the French Group Naval, will last four years and brings together ten partners from three European countries: Belgium, France and Italy. More information can be found on the project website: https://life-seadetect.eu/.

The LIFE programme is a financial instrument of the European Commission, dedicated to supporting innovative private and public projects in the fields of environment and climate.

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Kick-off of the Anemoi project: Towards minimal chemical pollution and increased sustainability of offshore wind energy production

Offshore wind energy offers many advantages: next to the primary aim of renewable energy production, offshore wind farms also offer multi-use opportunities with nature conservation and aquaculture activities. The environmental impacts of wind farms in the North Sea are being studied in depth, with a great deal of attention already being paid to the introduction of new habitats, underwater noise and the exclusion of fisheries. However, the chemical impact of offshore wind farms remains largely unknown. The new Anemoi project will improve our understanding of this impact by (1) identifying relevant chemical emissions of known and unknown pollutants from offshore wind farms, (2) assessing the impact on the ecosystem and aquaculture activities, (3) reviewing current regulations and (4) proposing sustainable solutions and options to reduce chemical emissions from offshore wind farms.

Chemicals enter the marine environment through numerous land-based sources, related to industry, traffic or households, and activities at sea like shipping, mariculture, dredging and offshore energy.

In the upcoming four years (2023-2027), 11 European institutes will investigate the occurrence and impacts of chemical emissions from offshore wind farms in the North Sea. Wind turbine foundations contain corrosion protection systems, which leach metals such as aluminium or zinc into the sea. Paints on the turbines leach organic compounds into the water, while the paint can crack and flake from the turbines by wave motions, and plastic particles can be torn down from the turbine blades.

Objectives

Within Anemoi, an Interreg North Sea project, the emission, concentration and distribution of known and unknown chemical compounds in the water and sediments will be identified by means of field monitoring and lab experiments (e.g. by mimicking particle distribution in a wave flume system).

Secondly, the impact of chemical leachates from offshore wind farms on marine life and different aquaculture products will be assessed through ecotoxicology studies and risk assessments, and the effects at different trophic levels will be modelled for both single and mixed chemical compounds.

Thirdly, different regulations are currently in place at the national and European levels to limit the impact of chemical emissions from offshore wind farms. To further reduce the potential impact, the different regulations within the North Sea region will be reviewed and an aligned regulatory framework will be proposed. Finally, Anemoi will investigate sustainable and non-harmful solutions (e.g. alternative corrosion protection systems) and optimizations to further reduce chemical emissions from wind farms at sea.

A flying start

The fieldwork has already started. During a campaign at sea in the last week of April 2023, water and sediment samples have been collected at more than 40 locations. The sites sampled were located in and nearby wind farms in the Belgian marine waters as well as in reference areas at a larger distance from the offshore wind farms.

ILVO – RBINS sampling team & collected samples on board of RV Belgica © RBINS

The accompanying photos illustrate the sampling work on board the RV Belgica by collaborators of RBINS and ILVO. Water samples were taken with a “MERCOS” sampler (from BSH) for the analysis of metals and with the “GIMPF” device (Geesthach Inert Microplastics Fractionator, from Helmholtz Centrum Hereon) for the analysis of microplastics.

Sediment samples were taken with a box corer for various analyses: metals, organic compounds and microplastics. Methods are completely harmonised with the work done during the cruise in the German marine waters in May 2023.

MERCOS sampler & Box corer in action during the first Anemoi field campaign in Belgian waters © RBINS

RBINS will analyse the quantity of microplastic particles, including paint particles, in the top layer of the sediments to identify the emissions of wind turbines and study the distribution of these particles within and nearby the wind farms.

The GIMPF Geesthach Inert Microplastics Fractionator © ILVO

Cooperation is the key

To reach the project goals, Anemoi will work in close collaboration and interaction with the offshore wind farm sector and with policymakers. A first stakeholder event is foreseen on 30 and 31 May 2023 in Hamburg (Germany), to exchange knowledge on the effects and risks of chemical emissions from OWFs and to discuss potential solutions to further increase the sustainability of offshore wind energy.

The Anemoi project is funded by the Interreg North Sea programme, with co-funding from Provincie West-Vlaanderen (Belgium) and VLAIO (Belgium), and is coordinated by Flanders Research Institute for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (ILVO, Belgium). Further information: website & LinkedIn.

Project partners: Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (RBINS, Belgium); Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH, Germany); Sintef Ocean AS (Norway); French Research Institute for Exploitation of the Sea (Ifremer, France); Provincial Development Agency West-Flanders (POM-WVl, Belgium); Foundation of Dutch Scientific Research Institutes – The Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NWO I – NIOZ, The Netherlands); Helmholtz Centrum Hereon (Hereon, Germany); University of Technology Braunschweig (TU BS, Germany); University of Antwerp (UAntwerp, Belgium); Technical University of Denmark (DTU, Denmark).

Offshore wind turbines in the Belgian part of the North Sea © ILVO
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Cyber threats in the maritime sector: cybersecurity working group

In January 2023, the maritime world was rocked by a large-scale ransomware attack on a leading classification society. More than 1,000 ships were affected. That attack is unfortunately not an isolated incident: in recent years, the entire maritime sector, from ports to passenger ships to classification societies, has been the target of cyber attacks on several occasions.  That is why the Cybersecurity Working Group within the European Coast Guard Forum was set up a few years ago. Thanks in part to the knowledge exchanged by member states in the working group on cybersecurity, many attacks can also be avoided every year. This Cybersecurity working group, consisting of 32 experts from the various member states, met from 22 to 24 May in Brussels.  

New insights and developments   

There were seven presentations on the agenda, covering various aspects of cybersecurity. Belgian speakers dealt with the topic of geopolitical impact on coast guard structure and activities and introduced the Centre for Cybersecurity Belgium and the brand new Cyber Command, which is part of the Ministry of Defence. Furthermore, the EMSA (European Maritime Safety Agency) spoke its new “cyber task forc”e and the training that it will set up about cyber security for maritime inspectors, the EFCA (European Fishery Control Agency) in turn made a presentation on the growing concerns about cyber threats in fisheries. Maritime cybersecurity exercises, the latest research on maritime cybersecurity and, finally, the French Maritime Computer Emergency Response Team were also presented.

During the last conference day, Eurocontrol presented how it deals with GNSS interferences for aeronautical domain, in order to learn from each other expertises. Then the working group discussed the possible orientations for the group in the near or mid-term future and elected a new chairman.

Future cybersecurity challenges   

The ongoing threat of cyber attacks necessitates a good exchange of knowledge between different countries. In recent years, the Cybersecurity Working Group has been a valuable platform for consultation. Given current developments, there is likely to be a greater need for closer European cooperation through EMSA in the near future. In this way, the maritime sector will continue to be safeguarded as much as possible from cyber threats in the future.

The Coast Guard is a unique Belgian organisation that pools and coordinates the expertise of 17 partners in the maritime sector to ensure safety and security at sea. Partners also include the Scientific Service ‘Management Unit of the Mathematical Model of the North Sea (MUMM)’, part of the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (RBINS).

In 2022-2023, the Belgian Coast Guard chairs the European Coast Guard Functions Forum (ECGFF). Together with the European agencies FRONTEX, EMSA and EFCA, it will organise a number of workshops during the year. In cooperation with DG Mare of the European Commission, it will also organise a Cybersecurity Working Group and the summit taking place at the end of September 2023.

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30 years of Belgian North Sea aerial surveillance

Although the Belgian part of the North Sea only represents 0.5 % of the North Sea surface, it is situated in one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world and combines a large number of human activities on a limited space. All the more reason to keep close eye on the health of the marine environment and the compliance of the many actors with regulations, also from the air. In their just-published multiannual activity report, the aerial surveillance team of the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences describes the various missions and results, trends and developments of the Belgian program for aerial surveillance over the North Sea over a period of 30 years, from its start in 1991 up to and including 2021. The numbers are downright impressive.

The report “30 years of Belgian North Sea aerial surveillance : evolution, trends and developments” was presented on 16 May 2023 at Restaurant Runway in Ostend, in cooperation with the federal cabinets of Mr Thomas Dermine, Secretary of State for Relance and Strategic Investments, in charge of Science Policy, and Mr Vincent Van Quickenborne, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice and North Sea, and with the support of Bruges-Ostend International Airport.

State Secretary Dermine (left) with the air surveillance team. From left to right : Brigitte Lauwaert (head of MUMM), Ward Van Roy (operator), Annelore Van Nieuwenhove (operator), Kobe Scheldeman (operator), Geert Present (pilot), Jean-Baptiste Merveille (operator), Pieter Janssens (pilot), Alexander Vermeire (pilot) & Dries Noppen (pilot). Absent: Ronny Schallier (team coordinator). (Image: RBINS/MUMM)

Aerial surveillance tasks

The core tasks of the Belgian aerial surveillance programme can be grouped under three themes:

Surveillance of illegal and accidental pollution: Besides detecting water pollution originating from ships (ship discharges of oil and other harmful liquids), Belgium currently plays a leading international role in monitoring sulphur and nitrogen emissions from ships to air. The aircraft also plays a role in the internationally coordinated monitoring of oil and gas installations in the North Sea.

Environmental and scientific monitoring: The team performs important scientific monitoring tasks including marine mammal counts and the monitoring of various environmentally licensed human activities at sea (sand and gravel extraction, wind farm construction, compliance within marine protected areas, etc.).

Broader maritime surveillance in the remit of the Coast Guard: These tasks include the control of fishing activities, compliance with navigation rules and AIS violations by ships (not using Automatic Identification System).

By being active in these three areas, the aerial surveillance has an important contribution to the sustainable management of the Belgian North Sea.

Oil pollution in the North Sea documented from the air (Image: RBINS/MUMM)

Facts and figures

The report describes how aerial surveillance over sea evolved from the surveillance of marine pollution in the early years to a broader environmental and maritime surveillance above sea, following the extension of the Belgian jurisdiction at sea and the creation of the Belgian Coast Guard structure.

In relation to pollution, the major facts of the Belgian North Sea aerial surveillance program in the period 1991-2021 can be summarized as follows:

  • 9574 flight hours were conducted, of which 7100 hours above sea (approximately 6400 flight hours in national and 700 hours in international context).
  • 625 operational (deliberate) oil spills were reported in the Belgian survey area, resulting in an estimated 1013 tonnes of oil pollution. When monitoring began, oil spills were a prominent problem, now they are almost entirely a thing of the past.
  • 158 operational spills of other harmful liquids (Noxious Liquid Substances, e.g. vegetable oils, biodiesels, paraffin) were observed. This type of contamination unfortunately shows a slightly increasing trend.
  • 51 ships were caught red-handed while performing an illegal discharge.
  • 35 serious shipping accidents have taken place in or around the Belgian marine areas, with accidental marine pollution or a high risk thereof. In 26 of these cases, the aircraft was effectively activated to monitor the emergency situation from the air and provide air support to response units.
  • 24 international “Tour d’Horizon” missions were executed, during which the offshore gas installations and oil rigs in the central part of the North Sea were surveyed, resulting in 430 flight hours and a total of 296 pollution detections (272 mineral oil detections, 9 detections of a harmful substance other than oil, and 15 contaminants whose nature could not be visually verified).
  • There was participation in 10 Coordinated Extended Pollution Control Operations, regional missions consisting of a series of successive pollution control flights carried out by multiple surveillance aircraft from different North Sea countries.
  • The Belgian aircraft participated in a total of 33 national and international pollution response exercises and related experiments at sea.
  • 353 emission monitoring flights were conducted with a sniffer sensor since 2015 and 6012 exhaust plumes were sampled. 9% of the monitored ships had a suspicious Fuel Sulfur Content. Since 2020, when the aircraft was further equipped with a NOx sensor, 3% of the monitored ships did not comply with the international NOx regulations. This form of monitoring the gaseous emissions from ships at sea is a Belgian pioneering work, and contributed greatly to the name and fame of the air monitoring team.
The aerial surveillance aircraft prepares to monitor emissions from a ship at sea. (Image: RBINS/MUMM)

Notable figures regarding monitoring of the marine environment, fishing activity and navigation rules are:

  • In the period 2009 to 2021, 214 flight hours were spent on marine mammal counts. A total of 3223 harbour porpoises were observed during the monitoring campaigns (3 to 404 animals per survey, on average 87 per survey). In addition, 100 seals were seen and sporadically some other species of marine mammals such as white-beaked dolphins, bottlenose dolphins, a minke whale and a humpback whale.
  • From 1993 to 2021, 1239 fishery control flights were carried out, leading to a total of 1185 flying hours. This resulted in a total of 7272 monitored and identified fishing vessels.
  • Between 2011 and 2021, 112 violations on the use of Automatic Identification Systems by ships were observed, together with 148 navigation violations. In recent years there has been a sharp increase in the annual number of observed navigation violations with the highest number in 2021 (36).
Seals on a sandbank along the Western Scheldt. (Image: RBINS/MUMM)

The future of aerial surveillance

Using and interpreting these facts and figures, the activity report also looks to the future, by explaining the programme evolution from pollution control and environmental surveillance at sea, to broader maritime surveillance in support of the overall Coast Guard framework, and by outlining that the substantive challenges of aerial surveillance above the sea are and will remain innumerable in the years to come.

Indeed, in addition to the tasks described above, some newer tasks are becoming increasingly important elements of aerial surveillance, such as the efficient enforcement of a new European external border (post-BREXIT), promoting maritime security, and offering support to search and rescue operations.

Finally, the report also explains the medium-term need for renewal of the aircraft. Only in that way can the Coast Guard renew its strategic vision and increase its cooperation on airborne surveillance, and modernise and expand its surveillance capacity with the aim to effectively deal with current and future needs at sea.

State Secretary for Science Policy Thomas Dermine receives a safety briefing before joining a flight over the North Sea. (Image: RBINS/MUMM)

Thomas Dermine, Secretary of State for Science Policy, who also personally participated in an operational flight of the aerial surveillance aircraft before the presentation of the report on 16 May: “The North Sea is a complex ecosystem, an important fishing zone, a busy shipping area and, since the Brexit, an external border of the European Union. It is therefore essential to study our North Sea and continuously monitor what is happening there. The aerial surveillance aircraft has been doing this for 30 years, thanks to a smooth cooperation between Defence and the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences. Now that the aircraft is outdated, I will fully support the dossier for its renewal.”

Vincent Van Quickenborne, Minister for the North Sea: “Belgium was the first and only country in the world to use a sniffer plane for ship pollution controls. Some 5,500 different ships call at Belgian ports every year. So it is impossible to check them all. With the sniffer plane, work can be much more targeted because suspicious ships are already identified at sea. Thanks to aerial surveillance, our port inspection services can detect 50% more violations and save 20% per inspection. We must cherish our North Sea. It is Belgium’s largest nature reserve. The increasing number of marine mammals and the return of species such as the European flat oyster, which has reappeared in our North Sea for the first time in decades, show that progress is being made. But the plane is in need of replacement after 30 years of service as a sniffer. Together with colleague Dermine, I am putting my full weight behind this.”

 

The implementation of the Belgian aerial surveillance programme over the North Sea is organised by the Management Unit of the Mathematical Model of the North Sea (MUMM), scientific service of the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (RBINS).

For the aerial surveillance, MUMM uses a Britten Norman Islander aircraft (immatriculation OO-MMM) equipped with scientific sensors for detecting marine pollution. The aircraft is owned by RBINS/MUMM but can only fly thanks to the support of the federal policy areas “Science Policy” and “North Sea” and good cooperation with Defence, which provides the pilots.