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A long-term partnership between Defence and members of Australia’s hydrographic industry has been established with the commencement of the new HydroScheme Industry Partnership Program.
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Chief of Navy, Vice Admiral Michael Noonan, AO, said that through the program, industry will be able to use the latest hydrographic techniques and state-of-the-art equipment to deliver quality hydrographic data to Defence, which charts and disseminates this information.
“The HydroScheme Industry Partnership Program is a $150 million government investment in Australia’s commercial hydrographic industry over the next five years,” VADM Noonan said.
“This is the first step in an ongoing partnership with Australia’s commercial hydrographic industry.”
Defence is charged with the responsibility by the Australian government, under the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea 1974, to provide hydrographic services covering the Australian charting area. The HydroScheme aims to produce high quality hydrographic information and deliver this service to mariners navigating in Australian and New Zealand regional waters. Australia is also the Primary Charting Authority for Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands.
A panel of six Australian and one New Zealand-based hydrographic survey companies will support Defence in conducting maritime surveys that enable safe navigation for mariners and support Australia’s maritime industry. The panel members are:
- Discovery Marine Australia - Tauranga, NZ
- FUGRO Australia Marine - Perth, WA
- iXblue - Wynnum West, Qld
- EGS Survey - Mount Lawley, WA
- Guardian Geomatics - Subiaco, WA
- Neptune Geomatics - Welshpool, WA
- Precision Hydrographic Services - Glandore, SA.
The panel will be administered by the Australian Hydrographic Office in Wollongong, NSW, which will be celebrating its 100-year anniversary on 1 October 2020.
With the transition of the national surveying responsibility to industry partners, the Navy survey capability is being redeveloped to focus on military environmental information collection to support Australian and allied maritime operations. The next Navy military survey vessel will be built in Henderson, WA, in the 2020s.
