The Belgian coast and the southern part of the North Sea is a dynamic tidal marine environment. Close to highly-urbanised land areas, it receives significant water loads from a local estuary of the Scheldt river. The 36-metre long ICOS Simon Stevin research vessel measures greenhouse gases in the Belgian part of the North Sea.
The R/V Simon Stevin, is a diverse coastal research vessel operated by the Flemish Maritime and Coastal Services (DAB VLOOT), with VLIZ managing the research activities and operations. Since 2012 the vessel operates in the Belgian EEZ, Southern Bight of the North Sea and English Channel, with a multitude of research capabilities and is an official ICOS station (BE-SOOP-Simon Stevin) since 2021. A wide variety of scientific equipment available for the researchers as well as having capacity to host systems that the users bring to perform their work. The vessel is an important asset for the Belgian Marine Science community.
