£600,000 Humber Surveyor joins ABP Humber Estuary Services survey fleet

ABP has purchased a new £600,000 survey vessel to join its Humber Estuary Services (HES) survey fleet.

The vessel joins a fleet that includes the Humber Sounder and the Humber Charter. It is equipped with first-rate survey technology including a £200,000 multibeam sonar, two single beam sonars, side scan and forward scan sonar. 

The kit is capable of three-dimensionally mapping the ever-shifting sediment within the Humber Estuary. The vessel is also able to digitally model marine structures such as quaysides, buildings, bridges and even shorelines utilising a laser scanner mounted to the roof.

The Humber Estuary drains one fifth of the area of England and the movement of channels within the estuary is a continuous process.

The state-of-the-art Humber Surveyor is equipped with first-rate survey technology including a £200,000 multibeam sonar.

Each year, teams undertake more than 600 individual surveys. 

The Humber Surveyor was built over the past year by Blyth Catamarans in Essex and ABP HES took delivery in early June. 

The vessel is complimented by the Humber Scout, a high-performance rigid-hulled inflatable boat (RHIB) that can be lifted on-board larger vessels and delivered to site. The Humber Scout is the smallest coded multibeam-capable vessel in the UK. 

Simon Bird, regional director for ABP Humber said: “This new state-of-the-art vessel will ensure we continue to map the Humber Estuary efficiently, providing essential information to those navigating the estuary.”

The HES team, comprising the Hydrographer Humber, three Coxwains and five Hydrographic Surveyors, is responsible for surveying more than 145 square miles of the rivers Humber, Ouse and Trent.