Unique Research Vessel Donated by Belgium Arrived in Ukraine

The Research Vessel Belgica, donated to Ukraine by the Kingdom of Belgium, arrived in Odesa.

As the Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority informs, the ship travelled 8,600 km from Zeebrugge for three weeks.

The RV Belgica was donated to the Ukrainian Scientific Centre of Ecology of Sea to research the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. It is equipped with five laboratories (fish, hydrological, chemical, biochemical, and microbiological).

According to the Ukrainian Scientific Centre of Ecology of Sea, while travelling from the North Sea to the Mediterranean Sea and further to the Black Sea, scientists on board took samples of seawater and bottom sediments to screen depths for contaminants and microplastics, and analyse dispersal and condition of marine microorganisms.

The RV Belgica was built in 1984 and has been used for 37 years for scientific and practical offshore shelf development research, in particular in preparation for the construction of offshore drilling rigs and wind farms.

In the near future, Belgica will receive a new name and will fly under the Ukrainian flag, based at Odesa as a port of registration. Plans are to used this floating laboratory facility for scientific research in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov.

Bohdan Marusyak