antarctic survey work in the spotlight - United Kingdom Hydrographic ...

24 April 2008
ANTARCTIC SURVEY WORK IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Picture Caption (left to right): HMS Endurance surveyor Lt Stuart Long is pictured with UK
National Hydrographer Rear Admiral Ian Moncrieff and UK Hydrographic Office Chief Executive
Mike Robinson at Rothera in the Antarctic.
Two UK Hydrographic Office (UKHO) chiefs have been finding out more about
the vital survey work being carried out in the inhospitable Antarctic.
UKHO Chief Executive, Mike Robinson, and UK National Hydrographer, Rear
Admiral Ian Moncrieff, spent time on the ground and at sea in this remote part
of the world, with its own particular Safety Of Life At Sea problems, to see the
problems and challenges of surveying in this region.
Their visit, which offered opportunities to cover several objectives at once,
was made in conjunction with other key stakeholders including our principal
user - Commander-in-Chief Fleet - Admiral Sir Mark Stanhope, KCB OBE,
Commodore of Portsmouth Flotilla Andrew Cameron, Director of the British
Antarctic Survey (BAS) Professor Nick Owen, and Deputy Head of the
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Polar Regions Unit at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Rob Bowman.
They travelled together via the MoD airbridge to the Falkland Islands and then
a British Antarctic Survey (BAS) DASH 7 aircraft to the BAS Base at Rothera.
The Falklands en-route afforded a valuable opportunity to discuss chart user
perspectives with the Commanding and Navigating officers from HM Ships
NOTTINGHAM, CLYDE and RFA GREY ROVER, before heading to Rothera
in Antarctica.
They embarked on HMS ENDURANCE at Rothera. She is currently on an 18
month deployment and in the austral summer months of this period
simultaneously supports our national Antarctic Treaty obligations, gathers
survey data for UKHO, and supports the scientific research of the BAS.
Picture caption: HMS ENDURANCE carrying out survey work in Antarctica.
ENDURANCE is equipped with the latest hull mounted Multi-Beam Echo
Sounder and produces and processes high volume high fidelity data while her
two Survey Motor Boats work with field parties closer to shore. Her field
parties are supported logistically by her two Lynx helicopters which also carry
out vertical and oblique aerial photography in support of the survey work
Mike and Ian were able to see the onboard survey work and that being done
offshore by the field survey teams and their boats. They were also updated on
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Picture caption: Admiral Sir Mark Stanhope, Fleet Commander in Chief, is pictured centre with
the survey team and UK Hydrographic chief executive Mike Robinson, far left, and UK National
Hydrographer Admiral Ian Moncrieff, second left
on the BAS work at Rothera Station, the science base built in 1975 to support
research work into Antarctica’s delicate marine and terrestrial environment.
Mike valued the opportunities to spend time with our key stakeholders and the
ability to achieve a longstanding objective to understand how survey data is
collected and the controls that are required to reduce errors, and then to see
the processing work done onboard before rendering to UKHO. In this it
completed his witnessing the missing jigsaw piece for him in the end-to-end
process that delivers ‘The Work’ that is signed off at UKHO
Mike said: “This was the first time I was able to see first hand how field
survey work is achieved and the problems our surveyors face. It was a
fantastic opportunity to see the excellent work being done in this difficult
environment and to provide input into how the data gathered will be used by
UKHO. It also provided the ideal platform to have very meaningful discussions
about operations in the area with our stakeholders.”
For Ian, who previously commanded HMS ENDURANCE, the visit updated
him on recent developments in region and to gather presentational material
for a paper he is preparing to present to the Antarctic Treaty Convention later
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this year on behalf of the International Hydrographic Organisation and the
Hydrographic Committee on Antarctica.
He said: “Antarctica is poorly charted to modern nautical standards yet it is
becoming an increasingly popular place with tourist ships. Currently 45,000
people visit every year and the survey work being carried out by
ENDURANCE, amongst others from other nations, is playing a crucial role in
reducing risks and to improving the safe conduct of navigation in this area. It
also provides data in support of Antarctic science. The key issue is getting this
data into charts as quickly as we can – a task likely to take many years”
During the visit Mike and Ian also joined in an onboard seminar of
stakeholders into the future replacement of ENDURANCE and discussed the
extension of a MOU with BAS for better data exchange. Both Mike and Ian
have subsequently followed up on some issues and ideas that came to light in
their visit.
For further information contact:
Tamsin Hodge, UKHO Media Manager
01823 337900 ext 3706
tamsin.hodge@ukho.gov.uk
Notes for Editors
ENDS
1. The UKHO, which is part of the Ministry of Defence, has been charting the world’s
oceans for more than 200 years with the primary aim of providing navigational
services for the Royal Navy and merchant mariners to save and protect lives at sea.
2. Nearly 70 per cent of world shipping use these charts in satisfaction of UN (SOLAS)
mandatory carriage requirements.
3. The UKHO also plays a central role, in support of the Maritime and Coastguard
Agency, in discharging the UK’s ‘Safety of Life at Sea’ Treaty obligations for waters of
UK national responsibility.
4. The UKHO provides a rapidly expanding range of digital products and services
including the Admiralty Electronic Navigational Charts (ENC) and Electronic Chart
Display and Information Systems (ECDIS) services every week.
5. HMS Endurance displaces 2,500 tonnes, and is 91m long with a beam of 17.9m. The
red hull colour is for easy recognition in the ice, most especially from the air. Powered
by twin diesel engines she has a top speed of 15 knots and a long range capability.
The ice breaker bow enables the ship to cut through 0.9m thick ice at 3 knots. Her
bridge is fitted with some of the most sophisticated navigation and manoeuvering aids
in the world.
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6. A Class 1 Icebreaker she was originally built in Norway in 1990 as MV Polar Circle.
The RN chartered her in 1991 before she commissioned as HMS Polar Circle on 21
November 1991. She was subsequently renamed HMS Endurance. Her base port is
Portsmouth, which is also the ship's affiliated town.
7. The Ship's motto is "Fortitudine Vincimus" - 'By Endurance We Conquer'. The motto
originates from that of the great Antarctic explorer, Sir Ernest Shackleton who made
history in his ship, 'Endurance' in his expedition south in 1914-15.