RV ''Simon Stevin'' is used to perform coastal

oceanographic Oceanography (), also known as oceanology, sea science, ocean science, and marine science, is the scientific study of the ocean, including its physics, chemistry, biology, and geology. It is an Earth science, which covers a wide range of top ...

research in the

Southern Bight Southern Bight, also known as the Flanders Bight, and (in Dutch) the Hoofden, is the southern bight of the North Sea bounded by the coasts of the Netherlands, Belgium, France and Great Britain. The Southern Bight is south west of the German Bight ...

of the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...

and in the eastern part of the

English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...

. It also serves as training platform for students from marine scientific and maritime studies and as a test platform for new marine and maritime technologies. Pupils and students from primary and secondary schools are offered the opportunity to step aboard for educational excursions. The vessel sails under a Belgian flag and the port of registry is

Ostend Ostend ( ; ; ; ) is a coastal city and municipality in the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerke, Raversijde, Stene and Zandvoorde, and the city of Ostend proper – the la ...

. ''Simon Stevin'' mainly performs one-day journeys, but multiple-day voyages can be scheduled as well. ''Simon Stevin'' serves a broad scale of marine scientific research. In

Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...

, marine research is performed at universities and public scientific institutes. The research is multidisciplinary reaching from

physical oceanography Physical oceanography is the study of physical conditions and physical processes within the ocean, especially the motions and physical properties of ocean waters. Physical oceanography is one of several sub-domains into which oceanography is div ...

fisheries research Fisheries science is the academic discipline of managing and understanding fisheries. It is a multidisciplinary science, which draws on the disciplines of limnology, oceanography, freshwater biology, marine biology, meteorology, conservation, eco ...

marine biology Marine biology is the scientific study of the biology of marine life, organisms that inhabit the sea. Given that in biology many scientific classification, phyla, family (biology), families and genera have some species that live in the sea and ...

microbiology Microbiology () is the branches of science, scientific study of microorganisms, those being of unicellular organism, unicellular (single-celled), multicellular organism, multicellular (consisting of complex cells), or non-cellular life, acellula ...

chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...

technology Technology is the application of Conceptual model, conceptual knowledge to achieve practical goals, especially in a reproducible way. The word ''technology'' can also mean the products resulting from such efforts, including both tangible too ...

, archeology to

geography Geography (from Ancient Greek ; combining 'Earth' and 'write', literally 'Earth writing') is the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding o ...

geophysics Geophysics () is a subject of natural science concerned with the physical processes and Physical property, properties of Earth and its surrounding space environment, and the use of quantitative methods for their analysis. Geophysicists conduct i ...

and

geology Geology (). is a branch of natural science concerned with the Earth and other astronomical objects, the rocks of which they are composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Earth ...

. The ship corresponds to the needs of multiple marine research areas; it is equipped with all standard sampling equipment and with high technological hydro-acoustic devices that allow current measurements (

Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler An acoustic doppler current profiler (ADCP) is a hydroacoustic current meter similar to a sonar, used to measure water current velocities over a depth range using the Doppler effect of sound waves scattered back from particles within the water c ...

) and characterization of the bottom (multibeam). A highly accurate positioning of the vessel is assured by the dynamic positioning- and steering system. A diesel-electric propulsion allows sailing as a ‘silent ship’, an optimal condition for the hydro-acoustic measurements. The construction of ''Simon Stevin'' was funded by the Flemish Government. VLOOT dab is the owner and operator (Flemish Government) and the

Flanders Marine Institute The Flanders Marine Institute (Dutch: Vlaams Instituut voor de Zee, VLIZ) is a scientific institution dedicated to marine research. Established in 1999 and headquartered in Ostend, Flanders, VLIZ gathers and disseminates ocean knowledge, promote ...

, VLIZ, is responsible for the scientific program and the management of the sampling equipment. The ship is named after the Flemish mathematician, physicist and military engineer

Simon Stevin Simon Stevin (; 1548–1620), sometimes called Stevinus, was a County_of_Flanders, Flemish mathematician, scientist and music theorist. He made various contributions in many areas of science and engineering, both theoretical and practical. He a ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Simon Stevin Research vessels of Belgium Survey ships Ostend 2012 ships