Kustwacht (Belgium)

	Kustwacht (Belgium)
State level	Cooperation between 18 regional and federal government institutions
position	Coast guard
Supervisory body (s)	Vlaamse Overheid
Consist	since July 8, 2005
Headquarters	MRCC: Ostend ; Province West Flanders ; MIK: Zeebrugge ; Province West Flanders
Coordinates	51 ° 14 '4.1 " N , 2 ° 55' 44.7" E Coordinates: 51 ° 14 '4.1 " N , 2 ° 55' 44.7" E
Cap.	R. Gyssens
Website	www.kustwacht.be

The Kustwacht (German coast guard ) is a civil organization for the security and control of maritime traffic including law enforcement off the Belgian coast of the North Sea . She reports to the Department of Maritime Support in Mobility and Public Relations at the Flemish Government .

Sea area

Geographically, the Belgian North Sea area is relatively small at 3,600 km², but it is one of the busiest areas in the world. On average, the region off the Belgian coast records 50,000 seagoing ship movements and 40,000 ferries, 25,000 leisure boats and around 15,000 fishing boat movements annually. More than 200 million tons are transported annually in this zone. Some of these goods are classified as dangerous and / or polluting. In addition, the access routes to the Flemish and Zeeland ports are located in this area , which also require special attention to ensure that this traffic is safe and undisturbed.

There are sandbars , wrecks and a network of pipes and cables in the monitored sea area . In between, sand and gravel are extracted or dredged and fishing is carried out. On the coast there are military training areas , wind farms , bird sanctuaries and other protected areas that must be monitored.

tasks

Coast Guard duties include:

Coordination of search and rescue operations (SAR) and provision of assistance
Coordination in the implementation of medical evacuations and assistance
Coordination and implementation in the elimination of marine pollution
Alerting the responsible services in the event of accident reports
Support in the implementation of emergency plans
Monitoring of the emergency frequencies in nautical radio traffic
continuous monitoring and ensuring safety at sea
Assistance in naval operations
Registration, reporting and evaluation of SAR or other promotions

In Belgium, 18 regional (Flemish) and federal (Belgian) government institutions, which are official partners of the Coast Guard, are responsible for these activities. The main task of the Coast Guard is to ensure good cooperation between all partners in order to increase the profitability of operations at sea. The main principles must be observed:

Equality for all Coast Guard partners
Respect for each other's authority
optimal use of funds to avoid additional costs

founding

Towing the 'Herald of Free Enterprise' into the port of Vlissingen (NL)

The disaster on March 6, 1987 with the capsizing of the " Herald of Free Enterprise ", in which 193 people were killed, illustrated the lack of cooperation between the departments of the Flemish authorities involved. Significantly better coordination and good cooperation was deemed necessary. Two laws came into force in 1999: the law on the protection of the marine environment and the law on the exclusive economic zone . Belgium was thus assigned a new area of responsibility at sea of approx. 3,600 km².

As a result, an inter-ministerial economic commission with the "North Sea Subcommittee" and the "Coast Guard" working group was established. This working group made an inventory of existing resources that can be used at sea, examined the maritime regulations and evaluated the powers of the various partners of the Coast Guard. She also made initial proposals for setting up a Belgian coast guard and drew up a North Sea emergency plan.

In 2003, the Coast Guard structure was approved by royal decree. With the signing of the cooperation agreement by the Belgian government and the Flemish region on July 8, 2005, the establishment and creation of the legal basis for the structure of the coast guard took place. The Coast Guard is under the Shipping Administration of the Flemish Community .

Kustwachtcentrale

The Kustwachtcentrale in Belgium consists of two complementary centers that watch over the North Sea together to prevent accidents. The emergency call channels are constantly monitored by the Ostend Radio radio station , which is operated by the Belgian Ministry of Defense.

MRCC in Ostend

The Maritiem Reddings-en Coördinatiecentrum Oostende (MRCC) is responsible for safety at sea and acts as an operations control center for emergencies at sea in the sea area off the Belgian coast. In the event of an emergency, the emergency services are alerted from here and all units of the SAR services involved and the other authorities are coordinated . The continuously (24-hour) manned MRCC has been located on and in the old administration building of the Vismijn von Oostende since 2006. The listed building was given an additional, fully glazed floor for maritime traffic control (Port Control) and the MRCC. The address is Maritiemplein 3, 8400 Ostend.

Head of Nautical Service MRCC - SAR is: Captain R. Gyssens

The second headquarters is the Maritime Security Center for Belgium ( Maritiem Informatie Kruispunt MIK). It ensures the cooperation between the coast guard and the Ministry of Defense and is responsible for the police and customs services at sea. It ensures that the laws at sea are complied with, pursues violations of the law such as B. illegal fishing and drug smuggling and acts as a national reporting point for marine and environmental pollution. The MIK was set up on September 12, 2007 at the naval base in Zeebrugge .

Administration VLOOT in Ostend

The coast guard does not have its own intervention units itself and, in an emergency, engages the partner organization Vloot, which can deploy two lifeboats for emergencies at sea (SAR) . In addition, the voluntary sea rescue service in Blankenberge (Vrijwillige Blankenbergse Zeereddingsdienst) is available. The 40th Squadron of Belgian Air Component, which uses Westland SeaKing Mk 48 and NH-90 caiman helicopters from its base in Koksijde, is commissioned to perform airborne search and rescue tasks.

The Brussels RCC is responsible for air emergencies (phone +32 2 751 4615 - mail rcc@mil.be).

For the electronic monitoring of ship traffic with the Vessel Traffic Service (VTS), the Scheldt Radar Network has been set up with 21 radar masts along the Belgian-Dutch coastline. Therefore, the Kustwacht works closely with the constantly manned traffic control centers in Zeebrugge, Vlissingen (NL), Terneuzen (NL), Hansweert (NL) and Zandvliet .

partner

The Belgian government provides the coast guard with various partners with its Federal Services (FPS):

Ministry of Defense (Armed Forces)
FPS Interior Ministry (police, civil and disaster control)
FPS Foreign Ministry (Foreign Trade and International Cooperation)
FPS Ministry of Economy
FPS Ministry of Finance (Customs and Taxes)
FPS Ministry of Health (environmental protection and food safety)

Other partners are the authorities of the Flemish Community :

Environmental Policy Department
Department of Shipping
Department of Mobility and Transport
Department of Agriculture and Fisheries
Agency for Maritime Services and Coast (Maritieme Dienstverlening en Kust (MDK))

The MDK has other departments for special tasks:

Coast Department
Fleet Department

Pilotage Department

Shipping Services Department

The Governor of West Flanders is also a partner of the Coast Guard. He is the responsible coordinator for the North Sea emergency plan.

fleet

The existing ships of the partner organizations (without the units of the Ministry of Defense) were transferred to the Fleet Department ( Flemish Vloot) as a shipping company with the formation of the Coast Guard . This means that the management and operations of the around 50 government vessels are in one hand. Vloot makes the vessels available to the other coastguard partners, who use them to operate in the North Sea area, in the Flemish ports, on the Scheldt and in the Gent - Terneuzen Canal . For sea rescue, Vloot has had a modern R6 ORKA lifeboat for all-weather operations since 2014 , which is designed as a self- righting device .

Work ship
Police boat
New lifeboat from 2014

At sea, Belgium has a floating SWATH pilot station in use. The pilots housed there are brought to the requesting ships in three smaller SWATH pilot tenders. Smaller pilot boats are used in the vicinity of the ports of Oostende, Nieuwpoort , Antwerp , Gent and Vlissingen .

Harbor pilot boat
Floating pilot station
Pilot tender

International cooperation

Traditionally and because of the shared use of the Scheldt estuary, there is close cooperation with the Dutch Coast Guard , which operates a coast guard center in Den Helder. According to the SAR Convention of 1979 , all states are required to work together in an emergency. The MRCC Ostend therefore maintains close contact with the neighboring centers in: