The new Belgian oceanographic vessel, the RV Belgica, has been floated in Vigo (Spain)

The future Belgian research vessel Belgica was launched for the first time on Tuesday from the Freire Shipyards in Vigo, Spain, announced the Federal Science Policy Office (Belspo), Defense and the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences ( IRSNB) in a press release. Now in the water, the ship is nearing completion and will be equipped with all the necessary equipment and materials. It will be delivered to Zeebrugge for the last quarter of 2020.

The construction of the new Belgian research vessel enters a new phase with its launch on Tuesday. The ceremony took place in the presence of the various partners of the project: the shipyard, Defense, Federal Science Policy and the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences. The federal government decided in 2016 to build a new research vessel to succeed the Belgica, which in the space of 35 years of service has covered a total of 900,000 km and taken part in more than 1,000 scientific expeditions.

The design contract, entrusted to the Spanish shipyard Freire Shipyard, started on June 8 and ended in the last quarter of 2020. The estimated cost of the project is 54 million euros (VAT included). Compared to its predecessor, the RV Belgica will be more spacious (around 70m long compared to 50m currently), more sophisticated (samples can be taken up to a depth of 5,000m), more ecological and quieter (important for research on fish, among others). The laboratory space will also be doubled and will accommodate up to 28 scientists. The ship will have a range of 30 days and will perform approximately 300 days of sea search each year. Its intervention area will also be enlarged: towards the north, the ship will be able to push up over the Arctic Circle, the aircraft will also be able to sail further south, including the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, and towards the west in the Atlantic Ocean. The new Belgica will be owned by the Belgian State, represented by the Federal Science Policy Office (Belspo). Its operational management will be provided by the IRSNB in ​​collaboration with the Ministry of Defense.

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