The IPF visits the Belgica

On the 19th of May the IPF visited the oceanographic research ship the "Belgica" which formed part of the Port of Brussels Anniversary celebrations.

The evening was organised by Prof. Georges Pichot of the Royal Institute of Natural Sciences, Marine Modelling Unit.

Prof. André Berger IPF Founder, Alain Hubert, Nighat Amin, from IPF in Brussels, and Laurent Dubois and Agathe Weber of the IPF Switzerland spent the evening studying the ship's research facilities with great interest. Also at the event was Mr Henri Picard, the designer of the "Belgica" who had not been aboard for almost 20 years. He provided the IPF with some interesting background information on the design and construction of the ship. He is an oceanographer and an engineer, and approached the design from the point of view of the needs of the scientist for deploying large pieces of equipment.

The Belgica's crew is from the Belgian Navy and there are 15 of them to manage the ship during operations.