With 34 years on the ocean and countless nautical miles in the logbook, the Coastal Directorate’s well- deserved survey ship, EKKO, will have a new replacement. It was Tuco Marine, Denmark that won the EU tender for the construction of the new survey ship. It is expected to be launched next year.
The Coastal Directorate has entered into a contract with Tuco Marine, for the new construction of an advanced survey ship. The ship will be part of the Coastal Directorate’s work with ongoing surveying of Danish waters and collection of data on coastal development. The data collection provides important knowledge, among other things, for the work with climate adaptation and coastal protection.
Latest sonar technology
The new surveying vessel will be equipped with A-frame for towed sensors and the latest, updated model of the so-called multi-beam echo sounder, which can measure the seabed with millimeter accuracy down to just over 200 meters depth. The ship itself is specially built for the harsh weather conditions on the West Coast, where a large part of the survey takes place.
The almost 15 m long ship with two powerful inboard engines of a total of 1,000 HP is built in carbon fiber and reinforced, so it can withstand sailing into very shallow water depths and even regular grounding as
such is an important part of the vessels daily tasks. The price for the new ship is expected to be in the region of DKK 10 million. DKK including the advanced measuring equipment.
Area manager Niels Kristian Kvistgaard from the Coastal Directorate says:
“Coastal surveying places some very special demands on the ship’s construction, not least because we expect it to be in operation for many years. The solution and execution that we get from Tuco is, as I see it, the ideal starting point for us to be able to deliver high quality data for many years to come.”
Solid data base provides security
Coastal director Merete Løvschall, who today signed the contract with the shipyard says:
“I am pleased that today we can start the construction of a new survey ship. An efficient surveying vessel with state-of-the-art surveying equipment is absolutely crucial for us to be able to follow the development of the coasts and solve our other tasks in the maritime territory. The coastal surveys are the mainstay of the data base on which we base ourselves in the work of making our coasts climate robust and creating security for all the people who live along the Danish coasts. ”
The tender process
The tender process has been going on for the last six months, and the primary attorney to the Danish stat has assisted the Coastal Directorate in carrying out the tender. Hauschildt Marine A/S has also assisted with ship technical advice in the tender process and will now manage the construction process until the delivery of the finished ship next year.
Director of Tuco, Jonas Pedersen, looks forward to working with the Coastal Directorate on the construction of the new ship:
“At Tuco, we are really proud to be assigned this important task. Survey vessels are some of the most specialized and complex work boats in operation, and we are naturally pleased that our ProZero series once again proves to be able to meet the specific requirements of highly qualified users in this specialized area.”
The Coastal Directorate has carried out surveys in Danish waters since 1874. The Coastal Directorate’s survey vessels are used for:
• Continuous survey of coastal profiles and collection of data on coastal development in Danish waters
• Control measurement of depths in sailing lanes and entrances, so that ship traffic can pass unhindered
• Survey of harbor basins
• Surface-covering measurement before sand feeding
• Survey of sand extraction areas
• Inspections of structures (locks, hips, stone settings, etc.)
• Deployment of surveying equipment, including tasks with the use of divers.
• Search and rescue of missing persons at sea
