PDL Marine, a boat building and fabrication company, has signed a contract with the Port of London Authority to refit two of the organisation’s vessels that are used for hydrographic services.

We have trialled a small vibrocore unit to avoid high costs and delays associated with traditional methods of obtaining sediment samples.

A newly-purchased multibeam sonar system is on course to boost the environmental efficiency of surveys undertaken by our hydrographic team.

Our hydrography team sailed to the Rough offshore gas field in September, approximately 30km off the coast of East Yorkshire, to survey key gas supply infrastructure.

Drone technology has helped our hydrography team secure detailed photomaps of three wharves in east London.

The aerial scans of the trio of assets – Peruvian, Plaistow and Royal Primrose wharves in Newham – will provide our engineering team with the geo-referenced, scaled data they require, in advance of planned improvement works. The footage captured the Thames foreshore and land within the PLA property boundaries.

The Port of London Authority has carried out high resolution asset inspection surveys for National Grid at their Isle of Grain LNG Terminal for over a decade.

Over time we have collected point cloud data, engineering assessments, reports, photos and scour profiles.

The Port of London Authority has the ability to capture the full landscape both above and below the waterline using multibeam echo sounder and vessel-based laser.

Our hydrographic team is preparing to bring new laser survey tech to their regular monitoring and safety of navigation surveys undertaken on the Thames.

Unmanned surface vessels have a key role to play in “the future of surveying” according to PLA port hydrographer, John Dillon-Leetch, following a live demonstration on the Thames