Fugro has partnered with the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Office of Ocean Exploration and Research (NOAA OER) to establish a new approach for mapping deepwater areas of the US Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
Fugro has partnered with the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Office of Ocean Exploration and Research (NOAA OER) to establish a new approach for mapping deepwater areas of the US Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
As Fugro’s survey vessels transit to project sites through NOAA-identified areas of interest, remote command and control technologies are used to acquire high-resolution mapping data with minimal crew onboard.
A first test of the approach took place last autumn in the Blake Plateau region off the coasts of Georgia and Florida, resulting in 28,000 km2 of new EEZ mapping data delivered to NOAA in February. With only about 40% of the US EEZ mapped and significantly less of the area characterized, the new Blake Plateau mapping data will contribute to the goals outlined in a November 2019 Presidential Memorandum on Ocean Mapping of the United States Exclusive Economic Zone and Shoreline and Nearshore of Alaska, which calls for bold action to map, explore, and characterize the ocean. Additionally, Fugro will contribute mapping data collected while transiting to and from the Blake Plateau project site as part of its continuing crowdsourced bathymetry programme related to the Seabed 2020 project.
David Millar, government accounts director for Fugro in the Americas, said: ‘Over the past several years, we’ve developed and refined our remote service technology to streamline project schedules, reduce costs, continuously improve health and safety of our staff, and lower our carbon footprint. This same technology is utilized in the opportunistic mapping model. By leveraging the location and movements of suitable survey platforms, we can acquire high-accuracy, high-resolution bathymetry data with limited staff onboard. The approach is both efficient and cost-effective, and we believe it has tremendous potential in helping close bathymetry data gaps, not only in the US but all over the world.’
Meanwhile, Fugro is putting in place a cost and capex reduction programme in response to Covid-19 and has withdrawn its guidance for 2020. Measures will include minimizing the hire of short-term charters, a hiring and salary freeze and a cut in the workforce. ‘Despite strong efforts to keep operations going, some projects cannot be executed as originally planned due to increasing travel restrictions and country lockdowns, which are impacting the business, particularly in the Europe-Africa region,’ it said. The company added that it had $437 million in liquidity but would also look for support from the Dutch government.
