Candidates Presenting for IHO Office

First IHO Assembly to Elect Secretary-General and Directors

During the first IHO Assembly taking place from 24 to 28 April 2017 in Monaco, the represented Member States will elect the new Secretary-General and directors. There are currently nine candidates. 'Hydro International' posed the same 5 questions to all of them. Read on for a multi-interview in which they present themselves. The full interviews are available at www.hydro-international.com/iho-2017 . Giuseppe Angrisano and Joost Boers, Hydro International Some coastal states are not yet members of the IHO. How do you envisage improving the number of the IHO Member States? Bessero I would continue to focus on raising awareness of governments and other decision-makers... (read more)

2017-03-13 11:22:59

Geomares: Quality is Our Motto

Hydro International Interviews Durk Haarsma and Meine van der Bijl

Geomares Publishing is the new media company behind Hydro international, which in October took over ownership from the magazine’s previous publisher of almost ten years, Reed Business Geo. Publishing director of Geomares Durk Haarsma has strong in-house brands, dynamic publishing concepts for the future and a dedicated team who will keep working to deliver quality in every possible way. Could you outline your reasons for buying Hydro international and establishing Geomares Publishing? I have been in post as publisher of Hydro international now for five years and have a strong belief in Hydro international as a flagship brand. Together with... (read more)

2009-12-29 01:46:53

Unravelling the Ridge and Rift

Missed Opportunities and Triumph

Following Maurice Ewing’s first cruise to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, two more were made by the end of the 1940s. The first of these was led by Ewing while the second was led by Bruce Heezen. Although Gunter Dietrich’s paper was referred to in the 1949 paper by Ivan Tolstoy and Ewing (see part I in last issue), neither seems to have comprehended its significance as he reported in the November 1949 National Geographic magazine: “Crossing the ridge, we drew a detailed profile of its peaks with our fathometer. Flanking the central highlands, we found deep trenches separating the main Ridge... (read more)

2014-10-15 02:53:21

‘Hydrography is Both a Science and a Technique’

7 Questions to the New Director General of the French Hydrographic Office

Chief weapons engineer Laurent Kerléguer was appointed director general of Shom, the French hydrographic office, in July 2019. In this interview, Hydro International asks him about the latest developments regarding the world of hydrography, climate change and artificial intelligence. “It’s becoming more urgent than ever to measure the ocean.” Chief weapons engineer Laurent Kerléguer was appointed director-general of Shom, the French hydrographic office, in July 2019. In this interview, Hydro International asks him about the latest developments regarding the world of hydrography, climate change and artificial intelligence. “It’s becoming more urgent than ever to measure the ocean.” Laurent Kerléguer was born in Brest, France, and has always lived by – or close to – the sea. Although he never had a ‘dream job’ as a child, he always had the feeling that his career would be linked to the sea. “For me as an engineer, hydrography is the perfect... (read more)

2019-10-29 11:34:23

Supply Hydrographic Personnel

Hydro INTERNATIONAL Interviews Johan Stam, Business Development Manager, Atlas Services Group

There is a global shortage of hydrographic surveyors. The industry is faced with an interesting challenge and looks to specialised education facilities and personnel suppliers to assist in solving this problem. Even in times of high unemployment it can be difficult to find sufficient skilled personnel to carry out hydrographic survey work in the offshore environment. Hydrographic educational institutions around the world are struggling to attract enough students, resulting in noticeable shortages of trainees within the survey departments of large and small survey contracting companies. Although working conditions have improved considerably over recent decades, the environment in which hydrographic surveyors... (read more)

2008-01-01 01:00:00

Mariners Need More Current Hydrographic Data

Hydro International Interviews Rear Admiral Christian Andreasen, NOAA (Ret.)

Almost 50 years in hydrography gives you insight and authority to talk about the field and the changes it has gone through in half a century. Rear Admiral Christian Andreasen talks about his career. He is certainly not somebody who only looks back, but is still looking into the future, sharing strong ideas about where hydrography will need to go: ‘Mariners do not understand why hydrographic offices are not more supportive. Finding ways of providing mariners with more current data is an issue.’ Since the 1960s, when you became a hydrographer up to the present, the means and techniques for... (read more)

2012-06-06 03:35:09

Starters in Hydrography

Hydro International interviews Lieutenant Matt Templeton, Elise Bergsma, Michelle Weirathmueller and Mohd Zukhairi Abd Latef

There is a global shortage of hydrographic surveyors. Vacancies and demands for personnel at sea mean surveyors are becoming the most wanted specialists in the offshore world. Institutes of hydrographic education around the world are struggling to attract enough students and companies are taking on students before even they have graduated. We found some students at the start of their careers and asked them what they expected from their life in hydrography. HI : Why have you decided to become a hydrographer?Templeton: I like the balance between the hard days in the field and the challenging evenings working through the... (read more)

2007-01-12 12:00:00

Bio-inspired Underwater Robotics

Swimming, Swarming and Sensing

For operations in complex underwater environments, bio-inspired robots offer manoeuvrability, stealth and autonomy. They integrate propulsion and control systems into one multi-purpose undulatory propeller. By generating large counteracting forces, undulating fins generate a wide range of net torques and accelerations. Bio-inspired designs can provide stealth by imitating the motion patterns of organisms. Bio-inspiration provides strategies to integrate multimodal sensory information, and algorithms on how to form robot swarms. Multimodal sensing and swarming facilitate navigation during indeterminate tasks, such as surveying or maintenance, provide robot redundancy, and increase the temporal and spatial resolution of a mission. People have been inspired by... (read more)

2014-04-07 01:29:12

Improving Safety at Sea

Hydro international Interviews Pedro Pedreira

Last month we brought you a feature article on the recent progress in the European satellite navigation system, Galileo. We discussed the motivation, the funding problems and the procurement process. Here we discuss this further with engineer Pedro Pedreira, who has been executive director of the European Global Navigation Satellite System Supervisory Authority (GSA) since July 2005, which is charged to manage the development phase of the Galileo programme. Can you please introduce yourself and tell the readers of Hydro international a little about your career and how you came to be posted as the head of the European Global... (read more)

2009-03-27 12:00:00

Looking Far beyond the Horizon

Hydro International Interviews Steven Xu, CEO, Hi-Target

These are exciting times in the geomatics and hydrographic industry. Innovative solutions are being developed, integration is the main keyword and the big players are acquiring smaller companies that add a new dimension to their portfolio. Europe, Japan and North America are traditional strongholds of geomatics, but several very ambitious companies from China are doing their utmost to catch up with the frontrunners. Steven Xu, CEO of Hi-Target, was more than happy to share his thoughts and expectations with Hydro International. Read the interview here. Wim van Wegen and Joost Boers, Geomares Publishing, The Netherlands Hi-Target was established in Guangzhou,... (read more)

2016-02-01 04:20:25