Funded by he Eu opean Union unde he Ho izon Eu ope P og amme, G an Ag eemen No. 101082021 (MARCO-BOLO). Views and opinions
exp essed a e howe e hose o he au ho (s) only and do no necessa ily e lec hose o he Eu opean Union o Eu opean Resea ch Execu i e
Agency (REA). Nei he he Eu opean Union no he g an ing au ho i y can be held esponsible o hem.
UK pa icipan s in MARCO-BOLO a e suppo ed by he UKRI’s Ho izon Eu ope Gua an ee unde he G an No. 10068180 (MS); No. 10063994
(MBA); No. 10048178 (NOC).
Deli e able 7.9
E hics b ie on en i onmen al issues o
planned ma ine ope a ions
Ve sion 2.1
28 June 2024
Julie Robida , Pa izio Ma iani, Ca lo a Muñiz
NOC, DTUAqua, VLIZ
PUBLIC
Re . A es(2024)5011335 - 10/07/2024
Repo Edi
2
Documen In o ma ion
G an Ag eemen
101082021
P ojec Ac onym
MARCO-BOLO
P ojec Ti le
MARCO-BOLO will s eng hen Eu opean ma ine, coas al and eshwa e
biodi e si y obse a ion o unde s and and es o e ocean heal h.
Deli e able Numbe
D7.9
Wo k Package Numbe
WP7
Deli e able Ti le
E hics b ie on en i onmen al issues o planned ma ine ope a ions
Lead Bene icia y
28. NOC
Au ho (s)
Julie Robida (NOC), Pa izio Ma iani (DTUAqua), Ca lo a Muñiz (VLIZ)
Due Da e
N/A
Submission Da e
01/07/2024
Dissemina ion Le el
PU
Type o Deli e able
E hics
Ve sion 1.0
15.05.2024, Julie Robida
Ve sion 1.1
01.06.2024, Julie Robida , Pa izio Ma iani
Ve sion 2.0
12.06.2024, Julie Robida , Pa izio Ma iani, Ca lo a Muñiz
Ve sion 2.1
28.06.2024, Julie Robida , Pa izio Ma iani, Ca lo a Muñiz
Repo Edi
3
Execu i e Summa y
This e hics epo is an e alua ion o cu en en i onmen al egula ions in he Belgian No h Sea ( he
Belgian Fede al Public Se ice’s Heal h, Food Chain Sa e y and En i onmen ’s Ma ine Spa ial Plan) a
he si e o ope a ions, in ela ion o planned ope a ions in MARCO BOLO WP4. The epo also
includes a summa y o sa e y mechanisms o collision a oidance in he ope a ion o ROVs and USVs.
MARCO BOLO ope a ions a e planned ou side o Ma ine P o ec ed A eas, bu i ’s also wo h no ing
ha he Ma ine P o ec ed A eas in he Belgian No h Sea allow indus ial ope a ions such as ishing
and sand ex ac ion.
4
Task 4.4 in Wo k Package 4 will demons a e he new de elopmen s in geoloca ion, au oma ed da a
p ocessing and epo ing and senso ne wo ks in ieldwo k nea Os end, Belgium, nea a majo
indus ial shipping po in he No h Sea. As pa o his demons a ion, Wo k Package 4 will ope a e
wo ehicles: a minia u ised emo ely ope a ed ehicle (ROV) om he RV Simon S e in and an
unc ewed su ace ehicle (USV). This E hics B ie is o e iew he egion and each ehicle and
add ess any unplanned impac s on he wo king en i onmen du ing he Task 4.5 demons a ion.
The Belgian No h Sea: The Belgian No h Sea is shown in Figu e 1. VLIZ ha e been ope a ing in he
coas al egion ex ending om Os end o yea s, including weekly ope a ions o he RV Simon S e in.
Indus ial ac i i ies: No e ha he only Ma ine P o ec ed A eas (MPAs) in his egion a e Vlaamse
Banken o he wes and Vlak e an de aan in he eas , whe e comme cial ishe ies a e ac i e,
including con inued awling ope a ions. The cu en MPAs include hea y comme cial shipping
a ic, and indus ial sand ex ac ion and dumping si es. O sho e wind in as uc u e is being
planned in he Vlaamse Banken MPA.
Figu e 1. Ma ine P o ec ed A eas in he Belgian No h Sea (Vlak e an de aan and Vlaamse Banken)
won’ be impac ed in MARCO BOLO. Indus ial ac i i ies in he Belgian No h Sea include comme cial
shipping, d edging, sand ex ac ion and dumping and o sho e enewable ene gy – all ac i i ies
which ake place wi hin designa ed MPAs. MARCO BOLO plans o ope a e unc ewed su ace ehicles
and emo ely ope a ed ehicles in he sou he n Belgian No h Sea a VLIZ’s egula moni o ing si e
(G a on si e, indica ed by o ange s a in map abo e). Figu e om
h ps://www.heal h.belgium.be/si es/de aul / iles/uploads/ ields/ psheal h_ heme_ ile/b ochu e_so
me hing_is_mo ing_a _sea_2020.pd
VLIZ and Li eWa ch ERIC ope a e ships and deploy senso s on lande s in he sou he n Belgian No h
Sea (G a on si e, o ange s a , Figu e 1) egula ly and is he a ea ha we ha e p io i ised o MARCO
5
BOLO ma ine ope a ions. Acous ics da a om a lande a he G a on si e show his egion o be
ac i e and popula ed by ma ine mammals, dominan ly po poises. The ben hos he e is comp ised o
e y ine sedimen . Task 4.4 will a ge his speci ic egion o ROV and unc ewed su ace ehicle
ope a ions.
Vehicle ope a ions: ROV and USV ehicle ope a ions do no occu wi hou p e ious knowledge o he
egion’s habi a s including ba hyme y, and wi hou pe mission o ope a e in local wa e s, ollowing
he ma i ime code o p ac ice o sa e ope a ions he e: h ps://www.ma i imeuk.o g/media-
cen e/publica ions/being- esponsible-indus y-indus y-code-p ac ice/ and coun y-speci ic codes
o p ac ice, whe e hey exis . The senso s used in WP4 a e in en ionally non-des uc i e and non-
in asi e, based on op ical, genomics and acous ic sensing a he han ha es ing o ganisms om he
en i onmen .
BlueROV: The e is no seag ass in Belgium and he ben hic habi a is mos ly comp ised o ine
sedimen . MARCO BOLO’s ROV ope a ions a oid ben hic ee - o ming wo ms, which do no occu a
he G a on si e (Figu es 1, 2). The BlueROV will ope a e abo e he seabed wi hou dis u bing he
sedimen s.
Unc ewed Su ace Vehicle: The G a on si e is jus sou h o a majo shipping lane (Figu e 1) and he
USV is he la ges ehicle ope a ed in Task 4.4 (9.0 x 2.5 x 3.0m), wi h a collision a oidance sys em o
p e en de imen o animals, habi a s o subs a es. USV ope a ions he e will be below 4 kno s,
equi ed o ope a ions o one o ou senso s ( he Unde wa e Vision P o ile o UVP6). This speed is
easily a oided by ma ine mammals. This is he ypical c uising speed o a pinniped (5 kno s) and
seals and po poises a e capable o bu s s o speed om 10-15 kno s.
Funded by he Eu opean Union unde he Ho izon Eu ope P og amme, G an Ag eemen No. 101082021 (MARCO-BOLO). Views and opinions
exp essed a e howe e hose o he au ho (s) only and do no necessa ily e lec hose o he Eu opean Union o Eu opean Resea ch Execu i e
Agency (REA). Nei he he Eu opean Union no he g an ing au ho i y can be held esponsible o hem.
UK pa icipan s in MARCO-BOLO a e suppo ed by he UKRI’s Ho izon Eu ope Gua an ee unde he G an No. 10068180 (MS); No. 10063994
(MBA); No. 10048178 (NOC).
P ojec Coo dina o
Nicolas Pade | nicolas.pade@emb c.eu
P ojec Manage
Giulia Vecchi | giulia. ecchi@emb c.eu
P ess and Communica ions
Ma hilde Vidal | ma hilde@e inn.eu
Websi e: Ma coBolo-P ojec .eu
Twi e : @MARCOBOLO_EU
LinkedIn: MARCO-BOLO
