“We’re kind of a 100 emergency number, but without ambulances,” explains Eva Descamps, head of communications at the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC). “That’s where our multiple partners come in – the most spectacular being the rescue boats and helicopters. Our people at the rescue centre decide, pending the situation, who will deal with the incident.”
Though the MRCC has only been operating for a few years, Belgium’s groundbreaking marine rescue and assistance service launched in 1838 with stations in Nieuwpoort, Ostend, Blankenberge and Knokke. It remains a public service today, contrary to neighbouring countries like the Netherlands, France and the UK, where private concerns take on sea rescue and lifeboat assignments.
The MRCC was established in a 2006 decree regulating shipping traffic in the Belgian part of the North Sea and the river Scheldt estuary. The MRCC is part of the Shipping Assistance Division of what is now the Flemish Region’s Maritime and Coastal Agencies.
The MRCC is housed in a beautifully restored part of the Ostend fish market at the Maritiem Plein, sharing the building with the administration of the Ostend Port Control, with room for an operations centre, video and telecom facilities and a crisis room.
Looking out over the Ostend Port, the MRCC covers some 65 kilometres of Belgian coastline and the intense traffic at Flushing roads, accounting for some 300,000 ship movements per year. This area is one of Europe’s most intensive maritime crossroads, with sandbanks, strong tidal currents and unpredictable meteorological conditions.
“MRCC is a permanent point of contact for all kinds of accidents and incidents at sea,” explains captain Réjane Gyssens, head of the Shipping Assistance Division. “We monitor the emergency radio frequencies and co-ordinate search-and-rescue assignments, medical assistance and evacuation. The MRCC is also the first point of call for water pollution.”
The North Sea is the crossroads for a wide range of maritime activities: Alongside commercial transport (on its way to ports in Zeebrugge, Ghent and Antwerp), dredging activities and fishing vessels, the sea off the Flemish coast is full of obstacles. “We have about 250 registered shipwrecks at a depth between 0 and 40 metres – a paradise for diving, but full of dangers,” says Gyssens. “At the Thornton bank are 420 wind generators and high voltage stations – all obstructions for maritime traffic.” In addition, “communication cables and pipelines can be damaged during anchorage and fishing”.
The MRCC issues safety guidelines for fishing vessels and for the transport of explosives. It has had plenty of learning experiences over the decades. In 1984, the Mont Louis ship, carrying nuclear cargo, collided with the Olau Britannia passenger ferry. In 1987, the Herald of Free Enterprise disaster found 193 passengers drowned, after the ferry capsized off the coast of Zeebrugge.
“Before the Mont Louis incident, we had no idea what cargo a ship was carrying,” says Gyssens. “In that case, the drums with uranium hexafluoride landed in the water.” Since then, every ship has to draw up a declaration of hazardous goods. The Herald of Free Enterprise stressed the importance of drawing up a North Sea emergency plan.
The MRCC never closes – 16 operators share round-the-clock duty, monitoring radio channels and radar displays. It operates as the first point of contact in case of any emergency. Unlike other personnel of the Shipping Assistance Division, staff of the MRCC must have nautical education and sea-going experience. “This helps them to judge the circumstances,” notes Gyssens. “They also get specialised training for crisis situations.”
Interventions have gone up. In 2005, the MRCC logged 97 assignments; 2010 closed with 252 rescue jobs. Beginning last April, the centre began listing sea rescue operations in categories: That month, incidents included merchant marine and professional fishing vessels (17), yachting, kite surfers and private fishing boats (19) and personal accidents with swimmers, divers and missing persons (35).
“Once we receive a distress call – either by VHF channels, Ostend radio, police or civilians – we assess the situation and dispatch the rescue service,” says Gyssens. “The helicopters of the 40th Wing Squadron are perhaps, thanks to the TV series, best known.” But the service also calls on rescue sea vessels, the Blankenberge volunteer rescue service, the pilotage services and even the navy.
As people flock to the coast during the summer months, the MRCC campaigns for safety at sea. The highest percentage of incidents occur, says Descamps “in summer, on Sunday afternoons at around 16.00”. “Anyone with a yacht can head to sea”, says captain Gyssens; no special training or registration with a local authority is required.
“Anyone can sail a ship in sunny weather, but currents, poor visibility and strong winds are a real danger people should be aware of. Everybody at sea should have at least some notion of safety measures.”
The MRCC publishes the brochure Wijzer op het water (Guide on the Water), which is distributed at aquatic sports clubs. (The English version is available on their website under “Downloads”.) They also encourage diving clubs to point out the dangers of wreck diving alongside classic training in things like super-cooling and decompression.
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