Two New Hydrographic Survey Boats for the Congo River
The Alu Marine shipyard, France, has completed the construction of two survey launches for the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). This order was attributed to Alu Marine in spring 2012 following a public tender from the 'Congolaise des Voies Maritimes' (CVM). These survey boats will carry out hydrographic surveys in the maritime pound of the Congo River to guide dredging and marking for the DRC's Multimodal Transport Project.
The project aims to improve transport connections between the east and west of the DRC, and thus develop trade and economic activity in this area. 150km of river are concerned, the distance between the mouth of the Congo River, Banana and Matadi.
These hydrographic survey boats are each equipped with an automatic GPS positioning system and the latest equipments dedicated to the entry and processing of bathymetric data (depth measurement of the seabed). The two boats will also probe the secondary channels and the shallow depths creeks.
Alu Marine worked closely with the French company CADDEN, specialised in bathymetry and geo-referencing. The contract with Alu Marine also includes user training on bathymetric operations and maintenance. The two aluminium boats will soon be transported to Boma, DRC. After the training period, the boats will start to work on the Congo River from May 2013.
