Maritime Coastguard Agency
Overview: UK Civil Hydrography Programme
The Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA) has overall responsibility for the UKs hydrographic obligations under the Safety of Life at Sea Convention (SOLAS).The MCA manages a multi-million-pound budget to systematically survey the waters around the UK. This programme is known as the UK Civil Hydrography Programme (UK CHP). Under the UK CHP, commercial contracts are let to ensure accurate hydrographic information is gathered for updating the nations nautical charts and publications.
The UK CHP prioritises areas of highest navigational safety risk and surveys and maps UK home waters - defined by the boundaries of the UKs Exclusive Economic Zone, an area in excess of 720,000km2 - in order to keep our nations nautical charts and publications current, safe and fit for purpose.
The MCA makes extensive use of geographic information systems (GIS) to prioritise survey areas using a contemporary risk analysis methodology capable of reflecting the changing pressures of the maritime sector.
The hydrographic survey work commissioned for the UK CHP is undertaken by contractors, who gather and report seabed data using their own personnel, equipment and vessels.
The UK CHP workscope is divided into the following streams:
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Routine Resurvey Programme - navigationally critical shallow water areas with mobile seabed;
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Shallow Water surveys - predominantly 0m to 40m water depth; and
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Medium Water surveys 0m to 200m water depth.
To support the requirements of the UK CHP, the MCA specifies state-of-the-art survey technologies including high resolution multibeam echosounders (MBES) and Real-Time Kinematic (RTK) Global Positioning Systems (GPS) to ensure accurate high-quality hydrographic information is gathered. Additionally, more focused work includes high-resolution wreck investigations, water column data collection and seabed grab sampling.
Prior to final data being accepted from contractors, it passes through a rigorous quality assurance process at the UK Hydrographic Office, where checks are made against items such as data density, interline consistency, geodetic parameters and tidal observations.
Once data has passed validation, it is archived to the UKHOs bathymetric database ready for inclusion in their nautical charting products.
Where the MCA is surveying
The following graphics show the high priority areas that the MCA are surveying. These are the Shallow Water and Medium Water areas. Further surveys may be added, depending on available MCA budget, collaboration opportunities and survey capacity.
Future surveys
The following graphic shows the high priority areas that the MCA are considering taking forward in future years, or that may be brought forward to the current year, depending on available MCA budget, collaborative opportunities and survey capacity.
How the MCA gathers hydrographic and seabed mapping data
The details the requirements for hydrographic surveys undertaken on behalf of the MCA, and has been prepared in accordance with the UK Civil Hydrography Programme Survey Specification 2022
This specification has evolved over time from previous iterations, with technical input and support from the UKHO, and contributions from other Maritime Administrations, Hydrographic Offices, contractors and other MCA and CHP stakeholders.
The UK CHP Survey Specification is also shared widely with MCAs survey partners and other collaborative public sector organisations to increase survey efficiencies under the gather once, use many times philosophy.
All surveys are conducted to the IHO Order 1a survey standard, as defined by the latest Edition of the International Hydrographic Organisation (IHO) publication ?latest edition of the IHO Special Publication S-44 Standards for Hydrographic Surveys?with?the exception of single-beam echosounder (SBES) check lines which are undertaken on the Routine Resurvey?Programme.
Technical requirements:
Multibeam Echosounder (MBES)
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Multibeam bathymetry is collected during all UK CHP surveys.??
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The MCA usually require 100% bathymetric coverage in all areas they survey.??
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System detection capability is defined by IHO requirements. Contractors are required to detect objects whose size is greater than a cube measuring 2m3, in water depths of up to 40m, and a cube with sides equal to 10% of depth in deeper waters.?
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A minimum of 9 soundings per minimum d