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Multibeam cuts survey costs at Rotterdam
Estimated annual savings of around €150,000 due to more effective maintenance dredging surveys at Rotterdam, Europe’s largest port and the world’s tenth biggest container terminal, are partly attributable to use of upgraded SeaBat 7101 and 7125 multibeam sounders.
That is the claim of Danish manufacturers Teledyne Reson, which cites high update rates for survey speeds of up to 10 knots as among contributory factors.
Operated by the Port’s Asset Management Department, two purpose built vessels, each equipped with the sounders together with RTK GNSS positioning and silt density equipment carry out daily surveys with the aim of producing updated bathymetric charts within 24 hours. Resulting paper versions are used for both dredging and vessel traffic management operations backed by ENCs for portable pilot units and gridded data sets for dredging equipment and GIS analysis.
Confronted by continuous siltation from the sea and discharges from the adjoining Maas river estuary, the deep water port is obliged to carry out an estimated 6m m3 of maintenance dredging works every year.
