Merry Christmas from "Team Batman"

Yamba Full Survey Completed

The Clarence River / Yamba Port full survey was completed in October. All went well and data looks great!

Strip The City

Recent works have involved the processing of high-resolution multibeam sonar data of Sydney Harbour, and its wrecks contained within, and the rendering of high-resolution animations for Windfall Films "Strip the City" series, soon to be aired on the Discovery Channel.

For more information: http://www.windfallfilms.com/show/2449/harbour-city-sydney.aspx

New Survey Vessel "Port Explorer" launched!

The long awaited arrival of SPC's new survey vessel "Port Explorer"  was launched last Friday.

We are now in the process of kitting out the SV Port Explorer with a moon pool mounted Reson 7125SV multibeam sonar and Applanix  POSMV 320 inertial navigation system.

Survey Data Over Offshore Artificial Reef

Shown below is some survey data of an artificial reef located close to the mouth of Port Jackson (Sydney Harbour). Artificial reefs have been used extensively around the world to create fish habitat, regenerate damaged ecosystems and to enhance angler catch.

For more in formation, visit http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/fisheries/recreational/saltwater/artificial-reefs

International Recognition of the Australasian Hydrographic Surveyors Certification Scheme (AHSCP)

On 24 May the AHSCP became the first hydrographic surveyor competency certification scheme to gain recognition from the FIG/IHO/ICA International Board for Standards of Competence for Hydrographic Surveyors and Nautical Cartographers (IBSC).

JP Cheminade has been a SSSI Certified Professional - Level 1 (Hydrographic Survey) since 2010.

For more information, visitit the SSSI website: http://www.sssi.org.au

Further information on FIG/IHO/ICA International Board on Standards of Competence for Hydrographic Surveyors and Nautical Cartographers click here.

Run for Annie completed!

Well done to our team of 3 who completed the Hunter Valley half marathon at the weekend, raising over 500GBP for the Christie, in memory of our friend Annie who passed away from cancer (far too young) last year.

Whales in Brotherson Dock, Port Botany

Whales came to visit Brotherson Dock in Port Botany on Friday. These photos were taken from the survey office at Sydney Ports Operations Centre.

And then whales were spotted in Port Jackson (Sydney Harbour) on Sunday...

Reson 7k Mount Adaptation

An adaptation of the standard Reson 7k mounting bracket to allow for the 400kHz Tx to be centralized around the Rx for the new SPC survey vessel SV Xplorer.

Port Jackson Passage

Seamless Integration of MBES & LIDAR in Sydney Harbour

Here is an example of how Multibeam data (sound through water from a boat) and LIDAR data (light through air from an aeroplane) can be shifted onto the same vertical datum in order to form a seamless DTM.

The example here is shown for Sydney Harbour (Port Jackson).

River Yamba Surveys

April 2012 saw the completion of the bi-annual surveys of the River Yamba shoal areas for Yamba Port Authority.

We mobililised a 7m Sailfish Catamaran (SV Osprey chartered from HCSurvey (http://www.hcsurvey.com.au/) with a POSMV and Reson 7125SV on an over-the-side mount with great results.

A nice part of the world to survey :-)

Just 60cms off the bottom!

The Queen Mary 2 displaces 151,400 tons, but barely scrapes in above Sydney Cove's muddy bottom as she berths at the Overseas Passenger Terminal.

The QM2 berthed at 6.30am yesterday, with a special heavy-duty anchor sunk into the seabed at Campbell Cove to ensure safe berthing for the 345-metre, 151,4000-tonne ship.

All bathymetry survey work is carried out by SPC suvey department with MBES, and shallow siesmic geophysical surveys were carried out by EGS onboard the SPC survey vessel Investigator in preparation for deployment of the anchor in Cambell Cove.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/national/queen-mary-2-berths-in-sydney-20120307-1uket.html

Currajong in Sydney Harbour

Shown above is one of Sydneys historical wrecks the TSS Currajong. The city's coast and harbour have claimed more than 140 ships and hundreds of lives since the First Fleet arrived in 1788.