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Kongsberg Maritime has contributed to a hydrography training course taking place in Japan by supplying training on its shallow water multibeam survey equipment.

The Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) invited eight participants from Australasian countries as far afield as Kirabati, Myanmar and Papua New Guinea to participate in a seven months group training course in hydrographic survey. The course was run by the Japanese Coast Guard and successful participants are accredited with the IHO Cat B survey category certification.

A GeoSwath Plus system was installed on a coastal fishing vessel in Tokyo Bay and the course participants trained in bathymetry data acquisition and processing in a one week session in November 2014. The portable GeoSwath Plus system is used by hydrographic survey authorities worldwide to effectively map shallow water areas and produce nautical charts using small craft and vessels of opportunity, Kongsberg informed.

“It’s important for trainee hydrographers to get experience on leading industry tools so we were keen to take part in this international training effort,” comments Martin Gutowski, product sales manager, Kongsberg Maritime. “Our part of the course went extremely well, with all course participants gaining a detailed insight into the use of GeoSwath Plus and its application to a diverse range of hydrography tasks.”