The Canadian Hydrographic Service, one of the world’s foremost national survey authorities as part of the governmental Department of Fisheries & Oceans, has awarded Fugro of the Netherlands a supply arrangement contract for provision of vessel-based survey services.
Under the arrangement the CHS will commission surveys as required anywhere in Canada by way of enhancing its capacity for data acquisition and processing in support of its nautical charting programme.
Data from ports, harbours, nearshore and offshore regions are to be acquired and processed using Fugro’s own vessels, equipment and personnel and subsequently used to update existing nautical charts. Together with an earlier arrangement awarded in 2013 covering supply of Airborne LiDAR Bathymetry (ALB), the new agreement will enable Fugro to fully support the Canadian government’s plans to implement an integrated multi-platform methodology to hydrographic surveying throughout national waters, including Arctic regions.
Meanwhile, the CHS has recently announced a proposed acquisition of seven new survey vessels to be built by Kanter Marine Inc in Ontario under a $5.3m contract. All are to be equipped with state-of-the-art multibeam sonar systems with the first due to be delivered this October.
By David Goodfellow
