MCA Medium Water Contract Award for A-2-Sea

Following a competitive tender process, A-2-Sea Solutions has been awarded the Medium Water contract of the Maritime & Coastguard Agency's Civil Hydrography Programme (CHP) for 2021 and 2022.

A-2-Sea was previously awarded the Routine Resurvey contract, which covers navigationally critical shallow water areas around the UK with a mobile seabed. Following successful completion of data acquisition and subsequent submission of rendered data to the MCA and UKHO, the Routine Resurvey contract has been extended for a further two years until 2022.

Governed by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA), the CHP aims to acquire, process and deliver accurate hydrographic data to inform updates to nautical charts and publications. In addition to a high-quality bathymetric dataset, the work scope also demands wreck investigation, backscatter data acquisition and seabed grab sampling for ground-truthing.

A-2-Sea will utilise a suite of high-specification survey and positioning equipment, including Kongsberg Multibeam Echosounders (MBES), RTK and GNSS positioning. Each vessel will acquire a high-resolution dataset, employing CARIS HIPS and SIPS software for post-processing to UKHO standards. The data will then be quality-assured, confirming elements including data density, geodetic parameters and tidal observations before being used to update nautical charts and publications covering UK waters.

Survey Director Chris Briggs comments: "We are thrilled to be working once again with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency on the Civil Hydrography Programme. Being awarded the Medium Water contract in addition to our existing Routine Resurvey contract is a testament to our survey department's dedication and ability to produce high-quality products. Over the past 18 months, our team has expanded and matured, as we deliver larger and more complex projects. We look forward to delivering another successful project to the MCA."

For further information or to learn more about the project, please contact info@a2sea.co.uk.