RV Simon Stevin[1][2] is used to perform coastal oceanographic research in the Southern Bight of the North Sea and in the eastern part of the English Channel.

Pupils and students from primary and secondary schools are offered the opportunity to step aboard for educational excursions.

The ship corresponds to the needs of multiple marine research areas; it is equipped with all standard sampling equipment and with high technological hydro-acoustic devices that allow current measurements (Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler) and characterization of the bottom (multibeam).

VLOOT dab is the owner and operator (Flemish Government) and the Flanders Marine Institute, VLIZ, is responsible for the scientific program and the management of the sampling equipment.

[4] The ship is named after the Flemish mathematician, physicist and military engineer Simon Stevin.