In-depth | RESEARCH AND SURVEY VESSELS Destination Belgium
Belgian interests have ordered a larger, state-of-the-art replacement for an ageing research vessel, intended to undertake a wide range of oceanographic and hydrographic missions
The forthcoming S research and survey vessel, currently under build in Spain delivery is epected in ctober 2020
and wet labs) and feature sufficient room for up to seven ISO 20ſt containers. In addition to supplying the vessel’s
design, Rolls-Royce will also deliver her main propulsion system, including side thrusters, steering gear and a DP2-rated system. Te vessel has been designed for 30 days of autonomy and it is BELSPO’s expectation that the vessel will spend approximately 300 days a year at sea. Her predicted service speed will be around the 11knots mark, increasing to more than 13knots max. The vessel is also expected to
carry DNV GL’s Silent R notation, in recognition of her low-noise qualities. Tis will complement her other notations, such as: 1A; ICE(1C); SPS; E0; Dynpos (Autr); Comf-V(2); Comf-C(2); BWM-T; TMON; and Naut (AW).
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pain’s Freire Shipyard is preparing to lay the keel for a new oceanographic research vessel for Belgian interests. The vessel will be delivered to the
government-run Belgian Federal Science Policy Office (BELSPO) and managed jointly by the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (RBINS) and the Belgian Ministry of Defence. The newbuild, which was planned as far back as 2005, will replace the 1984-built, 51.1m × 10m, BELSPO-owned RV Belgica, which has been used to undertake research and survey-related duties over the past three decades. Her replacement will specialise in completing missions related to oceanography, geology, sedimentology, fisheries, chemistry and hydrography – to name but a few disciplines. Scheduled to be classed by DNV GL,
the newbuild will be ice-strengthened to comply with the IMO Polar Code, thus making her suitable for research and survey works in the North Sea and
its surrounding sea areas. According to BELSPO, the new vessel will navigate a “study area” stretching from the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard – situated between Norway and the North Pole – to the mid-Atlantic ridge and the Mediterranean.
30 days of autonomy Te forthcoming vessel is yet to be named: in fact, at time of going to press, Belgian schoolkids have been invited to enter a naming contest to determine her moniker. What is known is that her design will be based on Rolls-Royce’s UT 844 WP class and that she will be significantly larger than her predecessor. For instance, her particulars are set
to include a length of 71.4m, a breadth of 16.8m and a 4.8m draught, and she will have the capacity to carry up to 28 scientists and 12 crewmen, spread across 14 single and 13 double cabins. Te vessel will incorporate approximately 400m2 of onboard laboratory space (including dry
Ship & Boat International January/February 2019
Scientific gear Deck equipment will include three cranes (each located forward, midships and aſt), as well as numerous winches, an A-frame and a 7m workboat (complete with launch and recovery system). Te vessel, BELSPO says, will be able to deploy a wide range of scientific instruments (plus, potentially, ROVs and AUVs) to water depths of 5,000m. Her planned acoustic underwater gear will include bathymetric multi-beam echosounders for both shallow and deep waters, an omnidirectional fish sonar and a parametric sub-bottom profiler. For additional crew comfort, the
completed vessel will also utilise a roll stabilisation system, supplied by Hoppe Marine. As a rough timeframe, the newbuild’s
design is expected to be finalised by the end of February 2019, to be followed by keel-laying in either March or April. Freire hopes to launch the vessel in February 2020, with handover to BELSPO anticipated in October of the same year. SBI
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