Automatic alarm procedure North Sea emergency plan ready for use

The Maritime Rescue and Coordination Center has been alerting the necessary coastguard partners and other services involved for several years if something happens at sea, but that procedure was too time-consuming, it sounds.

“That is why they started looking for a better working method to switch to a fully automatic system in the long term,” says provincial councilor Kurt Himpe.

application

“The application is based on the existing storm surge warning. Via that system, the Coastal Department automatically sends out warnings when a storm surge is predicted,” explains Kurt Himpe.

According to West Flemish governor Carl Decaluwé, the new system was tested for the first time in October last year. The results show that the system still had some errors. In December last year, a second test was a success. Now the app is fully operational.

Because there have not yet been any major incidents at sea, the tool has not been used for the time being. “It is certainly a good thing that the emergency plan is ready to start immediately in the event of disasters or incidents in the North Sea.”