MIMAC is a 2-year cluster project (01/2005 - 12/2006) executed by five Belgian partners, Ecolas NV (Environmental Consultancy Agency), EURAS, Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ), Laboratory of Environmental Toxicology and Aquatic Ecology (University of Gent) and the Maritime Institute (University of Ghent) and one international partner, Det Norske Veritas (DNV) (see partners-page). The cluster is financed by the SPSD II research program, supporting actions, of the Belgian Federal Science Policy Office. The cluster brings together two projects: RAMA (Risk analysis of marine activities in the Belgian part of the North Sea) and DIMAS (Development of an integrated database for the management of accidental spills) Both projects are focused on different aspects of marine accidents. The first project deals with the analysis of the risks and hazards related to shipping, the potential environmental impact of spills and the development of recommendations for improvement of existing contingency plans. The second project aims at developing a database of priority contaminants relevant in case of marine accidents and spills, amendable for interpretation, providing reliable, easy to interpret and up-to-date information on marine specific issues. The most important parts will be the direct and indirect effects on marine biota and the data quality assessment of existing information. The cluster aims at giving both projects added value by exploiting the complementarities of the issues which are dealt with in each of the separate projects.

Supported by the Belgian Federal Science Policy Office

General coordination: Annemie Volckaert Web site and databases hosted by VLIZ