The law of 13 June 1969 defines “Belgian Continental Shelf” as follows: the seabed and the subsoil of the marine areas adjacent to the Belgian coast but beyond the Belgian territorial sea.

The Royal Decree of 20 March 2026 establishing the marine spatial plan for the period 2026 to 2034 in the Belgian marine areas defines 13 nature conservation areas: Seabed integrity zone: Zone 1, upper (Art. 10§1.1°), Seabed integrity zone: Zone 2, middle (Art. 10§1.2°), Seabed integrity zone: Zone 3, lower (Art. 10§1.3°), Ramsar area (Art. 11), Special Area of Conservation "Vlaamse Banken" (Art. 8§1), Special Area of Conservation "Vlakte van de Raan" (Art. 8§3), Special Protection Area for Birds: SPA 1 (Art. 8§5.1°), Special Protection Area for Birds: SPA 2 (Art. 8§5.2°), Special Protection Area for Birds: SPA 3 (Art. 8§5.3°), Marine reserve: Zone 1, upper (Art. 9§1.1°), Marine reserve: Zone 2a, middle (Art. 9§1.2°), Marine reserve: Zone 2b, middle (Art. 9§2), Marine reserve: Zone 3, lower (Art. 9§3). It replaces the 2020 Marine Spatial Plan. Please refer to the Belgian official gazette ("Moniteur belgeBelgisch Staatsblad") for official reference information.

The Royal Decree of 20 March 2026 establishing the marine spatial plan for the period 2026 to 2034 in the Belgian marine areas defines 20 shipping and ports zones: IMO shipping zones (Art. 14§2), Traffic separation schemes (Art. 14§2), IMO traffic separation scheme "Noordhinder South" (Art. 14§2.1°), IMO precautionary area "in the vicinity of Thornton and Blighbank" (Art. 14§2.10°), Other routes and traffic flows (Royal Decree) (Art. 14§2.11°-19°), IMO traffic separation scheme "Off Noordhinder" (Art. 14§2.2°), IMO precautionary area "Noordhinder Junction" (Art. 14§2.3°), IMO traffic separation scheme "At Westhinder" (Art. 14§2.4°), Separation line "At West Hinder" (Art. 14§2.4°), IMO precautionary area "At Westhinder" (Art. 14§2.5°), IMO area to be avoided "At Westhinder" (Art. 14§2.6°), IMO deep-water route "Approach to the Scheldt" (Art. 14§2.7°), IMO two-way route "Westpit" (Art. 14§2.8°), IMO precautionary area "At Gootebank" (Art. 14§2.9°), Anchorage area "Oostdyck" (Art. 14§3.1°), IMO anchorage area "At Westhinder" (Art. 14§3.2°), Maritime safety research zone: Zone 1 (Art. 14§5.1°), Maritime safety research zone: Zone 2 (Art. 14§5.2°), Maritime safety research zone: Zone 3 (Art. 14§5.3°). It replaces the 2020 Marine Spatial Plan. Please refer to the Belgian official gazette ("Moniteur belgeBelgisch Staatsblad") for official reference information.

The Royal Decree of 20 March 2026 establishing the marine spatial plan for the period 2026 to 2034 in the Belgian marine areas defines 12 sand and gravel extraction zones: Sand and gravel extraction sector 1a (Thorntonbank) (Art. 19§1.1°), Sand and gravel extraction sector 4d (Art. 19§1.10°), Sand and gravel extraction sector 5 (Blighbank) (Art. 19§1.11°), Sand extraction sector 2kb (Kwintebank) (Art. 19§1.2°), Sand extraction sector 2br (Buiten Ratel) (Art. 19§1.3°), Sand extraction sector 2od (Oostdyck) (Art. 19§1.4°), Sand and gravel extraction sector 3a (Sierra Ventana) (Art. 19§1.5°), Sand and gravel extraction sector 3b (Sierra Ventana) (Art. 19§1.6°), Sand and gravel extraction sector 4a (Noordhinder) (Art. 19§1.7°), Sand and gravel extraction sector 4b (Oosthinder North) (Art. 19§1.8°), Sand and gravel extraction sector 4c (Oosthinder South) (Art. 19§1.9°), Extraction search zone (Art. 19§4). It replaces the 2020 Marine Spatial Plan. Please refer to the Belgian official gazette ("Moniteur belgeBelgisch Staatsblad") for official reference information.

The Royal Decree of 20 March 2026 establishing the marine spatial plan for the period 2026 to 2034 in the Belgian marine areas defines 7 energy, cable and pipeline zones: Renewable energy zone: Zone 1, Eastern Zone (Art. 12§1), Princess Elisabeth renewable energy zone: Zone 2a, Noordhinder North (Art. 12§2.2a°), Princess Elisabeth renewable energy zone: Zone 2b, Noordhinder South (Art. 12§2.2b°), Princess Elisabeth renewable energy zone: Zone 2c, Fairybank (Art. 12§2.3°), Modular offshore grid for electricity transmission (Art. 12§4), Safeguard zone of the Eastern Zone (Art. 12§5), Pipeline and cable corridor (Art. 13§1). It replaces the 2020 Marine Spatial Plan. Please refer to the Belgian official gazette ("Moniteur belgeBelgisch Staatsblad") for official reference information.

The Royal Decree of 20 March 2026 establishing the marine spatial plan for the period 2026 to 2034 in the Belgian marine areas defines 13 military use zones: Mine warfare exercise zone – QZR 040 (Art. 21§1.1°), Mine warfare exercise zone – NBH-10 (Wenduine) (Art. 21§1.2°), Mine warfare exercise zone – NB-01 (Westhinder) (Art. 21§1.3°), Mine warfare exercise zone (Buiten Ratel) (Art. 21§1.4°), Belgisch Nationaal Oefengebied voor Marineschepen (BNOM) (Art. 21§1.5°), Shallow Water Zone (Art. 21§1.6°), Zone for detonation exercises and operations (Art. 21§2), Lombardsijde firing sector: small sector (Art. 21§3.1°), Lombardsijde firing sector: middle sector (Art. 21§3.2°), Lombardsijde firing sector: large sector (Art. 21§3.3°), Paardenmarkt munitions disposal site (Art. 22§1). It replaces the 2020 Marine Spatial Plan. Please refer to the Belgian official gazette ("Moniteur belgeBelgisch Staatsblad") for official reference information.

The Royal Decree of 20 March 2026 establishing the marine spatial plan for the period 2026 to 2034 in the Belgian marine areas defines 2 potential seaport expansion zones: Potential expansion of the Port of Ostend (Art. 16§2), Potential expansion of the Port of Zeebrugge (Art. 16§3). It replaces the 2020 Marine Spatial Plan. Please refer to the Belgian official gazette ("Moniteur belgeBelgisch Staatsblad") for official reference information.

The Royal Decree of 20 March 2026 establishing the marine spatial plan for the period 2026 to 2034 in the Belgian marine areas defines 1 measuring pole: Measurement poles (Art. 25§2). It replaces the 2020 Marine Spatial Plan. Please refer to the Belgian official gazette ("Moniteur belgeBelgisch Staatsblad") for official reference information.

This dataset represents the location of the Princess Elizabeth zone in the Belgian Part of the North Sea as described in the Royal Decree of May 22th, 2019, establishing a marine spatial plan for the period 2020-2026. Art. 8. § 3.

The Royal Decree of 20 March 2026 establishing the marine spatial plan for the period 2026 to 2034 in the Belgian marine areas defines 1 commercial and industrial zones: Zone C for commercial and industrial activities (Art. 27§1). It replaces the 2020 Marine Spatial Plan. Please refer to the Belgian official gazette ("Moniteur belgeBelgisch Staatsblad") for official reference information.