Page 50 - European Energy Innovation - Winter 2016 publication

50 Winter 2016 European Energy Innovation
COMMUNICATION
the UK, Denmark or Norway. But there
are also Belgian operators: Geosea
and OWA (Offshore Wind Assistance)
are represented. And GEOxyz, which
specialises in high technological
underwater surveys and crew transfer,
have based their fleet of 17 ships at
the port in order to safeguard the
maintenance and fleet management.
Next to GEOxyz, Survitec has opened
a new premise to secure the safety and
security on board the vessels.
In order to support this activity, the port offshore aquaculture to establish new
of Oostende will invest in additional
efficient mooring infrastructure, as well
as a performing IT-systems to secure
efficient communication with the port
users and the nautical authorities.
More land will be made available for
a ship-building company that wants
to provide innovative solutions for
developing more efficient vessels
and satisfy the needs of the wind park
operators.
BLUE GROWTH AT THE PORT
OF OOSTENDE: A PERMANENT
CHALLENGE.
The construction and maintenance
of the offshore wind parks represent
the most important parts of the Blue
Growth development at the port of
Oostende. Apart from wind energy, the
port is also considering other sources
of blue energy: together with Marintek,
Sintef, Highlands & Islands Enterprise,
the universities of Aalborg and Brindisi,
an analysis has been made of the role
that small and medium-seized ports can
play in the development of wave and
tidal energy (www.beppoproject.eu).
The port also actively supports several
practical projects from experimental
development up to full scale testing.
The wave projects Flansea and
Laminaria, that have been testing in
and around the breakwaters of the port,
are excellent examples.
In addition to the production of the
energy at sea, other opportunities
can be realized within the the Blue
Growth strategy. As a result of current
climate conditions, the North Sea is
facing a rising of sea level. In order to
cope with this challenge it is important
to develop new techniques and
technologies for the monitoring of the
sea level as well as the hydraulic and
underwater constructions on shore
and at sea. The project “the Vlaamse
Baaien” has provided a positive
input towards opening the door for
developing new technologies in this
field. Also, the port is investigating the of the founding fathers of the Flanders
possibility of establishing temporary
and permanent test facilities in close
cooperation with the marine and
maritime industry. Moreover, the wind
parks offer an opportunity for the
projects in cooperation with the wind
park managers within the framework
of marine spatial planning. In this
spatial plan, there is also room for
the exploitation and management of
the seabed, the promotion of marine
biotechnology, the cultivation of algae,
in full respect of the eco-system of the
North Sea.
In order to realize these ambitions
and targets, the port of Oostende is
working in close cooperation with
different organizations and institutions
that have established themselves
at the port. An important partner
in these developments is the POM
(Regional Development Agency) of
West-Vlaanderen, which launched “the
Factory of the future Blue Energy” in
2012, to support the clustering and
branding of the marine and offshore
industry in coastal regions. A joint
venture has been set up with the
University of Gent which has resulted
in the building of the Greenbridge
incubator centre in the inner port,
hosting start-ups and companies,
finding their way in renewable energy
and blue growth. Other knowledge
centers that have established their
headquarters are ILVO and VLIZ .
ILVO is the Flemish institute for the
research in fisheries and agriculture,
which investigates new technologies
for fishing and the management of
fish stocks in the North Sea. VLIZ
is the Flemish institute for the Sea
and functions as a coordination- and
information-platform for all scientific
marine and maritime research in
Flanders. It has its own research vessel,
the Simon Stevin, and has built its
own data-center which has gained
international recognition. UNESCO
has also established its project office
for the International Oceanographic
Data & Information Change (IODE)
at the port. Close relationships with
industry have been established. In
2010, the port of Oostende was one
Maritime Cluster (FMC), an interest
group for all industries active in and
around the sea. It has its offices in the
port house in Oostende. And recently,
the Belgian Offshore Cluster (BOC) has
been established, gathering different
industrial players in the offshore wind
sector: they have organized the second
edition of the Belgian Offshore days
at the port of Oostende in April 2016
and were present as a cluster at Wind
Energy Hamburg in September 2016.
They play an important role, especially
as the Flemish government in Brussels
still has not discovered the added
value of this blue industry. Finally, the
port is investigating opportunities
for cooperation with the airport of
Oostende-Brugge, for crew transfer
and cargo supply.
CONCLUSION
The port of Oostende is a traditional
port: general cargos, cruises, roll-on-
roll off, fisheries, bulk are core activities
within the port of Oostende and they
are taken care of. New projects are
established in the inner port within the
field of circular economy, fine chemicals
(SEVESO-site) and the improvement
of the facilities for inland navigation.
Somehow, the port of Oostende has
decided some years ago to diversify
the economic activities: the strategic
choice for the blue growth and the
investments in the development of
the blue industry, have given the port
of Oostende a new important pillar to
guarantee its viability as a small and
medium-sized port in the North Sea. l
Contact details:
Wim Stubbe
Business Development Manager
AG Haven Oostende
Email: wim.stubbe@portofoostende.be
Tel: +32 487 548 768
Website: www.portofoostende.be
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