There is a tower in the North Sea, maybe several, you can sometimes see it from the beach of De Panne. You also see have in the 1st series of Windforce 10. What is that tower?

Answer

There are different types of piles in the Belgian part of the North Sea. On the one hand, there are the poles, which, together with several buoys, form the Flemish Banks Monitoring Network and collect data on the state of the sea and the weather above the sea. In front of De Panne, however, quite far out to sea, is the measurement post ‘Westhinder’ on the Westhinder sandbank.

On the other hand, there is the pole/platform ‘Oostdyck’, located less far out to sea off the coast of De Panne (see attached photo). Your question is probably about this ‘tower’. This pole is part of a network of radar towers that guide shipping in the Belgian part of the North Sea and the Scheldt and its mouth: the Scheldt radar chain (see attached map and www.vts-scheldt.net). This radar tower on the Oostdyck sandbank has only been operational since 2003 and allows better visibility of shipping movements on the Belgian-French border.

The Flemish Banks monitoring network collects in ‘real-time’ oceanographic and meteorological data along the Belgian coast and in the Belgian part of the North Sea. The measured data are mainly intended for the preparation of hydro-meteo information messages: predictions of tide heights, waves, wind and visibility along the Belgian coast and in the shipping routes to the ports in the Western Scheldt (see www.kustweerbericht.be). The Flemish Banks Measurement Network is supported by the Flemish Government and was set up by the Coastal Division of the IVA Maritime Services and Coast (MDK) of the Mobility and Public Works policy area.