Collaborative efforts bolster seabed mapping in Africa
Celebrating World Hydrography Day
The Gambia became the most recent African country to join the International Hydrographic Organisation (IHO) last month, highlighting the developing commitment from the continent to foster hydrographic skills and knowledge.
Despite this, however, there are still considerable gaps with many rivers and coastal areas remaining uncharted limiting safe navigation, port efficiency and the ability to manage the marine environment effectively. This year’s theme for World Hydrography Day, “Seabed Mapping: enabling ocean action”, is therefore particularly relevant to the continent.
The theme aims to highlight the importance of ocean mapping as the key to enable ocean action, in full alignment with the theme of the next United Nations Ocean Conference that took place earlier this month.
On World Hydrography Day, The Nippon Foundation-GEBCO Seabed 2030 Project announced an increase in the percentage of the world’s ocean floor that has been mapped to modern standards. Sitting at 27.3% (up from 6% in 2017), the increase in data represents more than four million square kilometres of newly mapped seafloor – an area roughly equivalent to the entire Indian subcontinent.
Seabed 2030 is a collaborative project between The Nippon Foundation and the General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans (GEBCO), which seeks to accelerate the complete mapping of the world’s ocean floor and compile all the data into the freely available GEBCO Ocean Map.
Over the past 12 months, Seabed 2030 has welcomed data contributions from 14 new organisations – including first-time contributions from five new countries – four of which are on the continent: Kenya, Comoros, Mozambique and Tanzania.
“The hydrographic responsibilities for a developing coastal state like The Gambia are not easily achievable due to economic reasons, lack of adequate capacity in terms of trained personnel and hydrographic and/or survey equipment.”
Boosting capacity in Africa
“The hydrographic responsibilities for a developing coastal state like The Gambia are not easily achievable due to economic reasons, lack of adequate capacity in terms of trained personnel and hydrographic and/or survey equipment,” said Captain Kulay Manneh, Harbour Master Banjul Port at the time of joining the IHO.
With several African states facing the same constraints, foreign navies including the Indian Navy have provided hydrographic support. Assisting both the Seychelles and Mauritius, the Indian Navy has helped produce navigational charts for the two island states. The government of India also donated a small inshore survey boat to Mauritius in 2013.
In May this year, the Seabed 2030 Project announced a partnership with the University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania to help support efforts to expand ocean knowledge and improve the understanding of the seafloor.
The University of Dar es Salaam, through its Institute of Marine Sciences (IMS) and School of Aquatic Sciences and Fisheries Technology (SOAF), has established itself as a regional hub for oceanographic research, hydrography and environmental stewardship.
“This collaboration with Seabed 2030 reflects the University of Dar es Salaam’s enduring dedication to advancing scientific research in support of ocean sustainability. Through the work of our Institute of Marine Sciences and hydrographic research teams, we reinforce Tanzania’s contribution to global ocean mapping efforts and generate insights essential for marine conservation, policy development and responsible resource management,” said Professor William Anangisye, Vice Chancellor of the University of Dar es Salaam.
The OceanX and OceanQuest Around Africa Expedition that took place during the first half of this year saw the one of the world’s most advanced scientific research vessels, the OceanXplorer undertake a four-month mission to map over 150,000km2 of seafloor.
The expedition involved 34 early career ocean professionals from 16 countries and scientists from eight countries, and engaged with over 300 students, educators, and early-career professionals through training, outreach, and capacity sharing initiatives during port stops as well as onboard the OceanXplorer.
Building on the success of its recent expedition, OceanQuest is advancing a mid-term expedition plan (2025–2028) that will explore seamount systems in the Red Sea, Southwest Indian Ocean, and the Tropical and South Atlantic. These expeditions aim to investigate biodiversity and deep-ocean connectivity, while comparing geological, physical, chemical and ecological settings across ocean basins to reveal global patterns in ocean life, processes, and evolution.
Hydrographic vessels in Africa
The work undertaken by the OceanXplorer is particularly useful given the lack of hydrographic vessels in the region.
While some of the hydrographic vessels in operation in Africa, such as the SAS Protea (1972) in South Africa and the RV Mtafiti (1977) in Kenya are notably older, there have, however, been efforts across the continent to renew ocean-going platforms.
Although the new state-of-the-art hydrographic vessel being built in Durban (South Africa) for the South African Navy is behind schedule, the importance of the newbuild was emphasised during the Hydrographic Lecture at a World Hydrography Day event in East London this past weekend hosted by the South African Navy.
“A survey ship is not just a ship, it is an important asset that enhances operational effectiveness.”
“A survey ship is not just a ship, it is an important asset that enhances operational effectiveness. We need to chart our work in our waters to ensure safe transit of ships. In a global landscape where maritime security is paramount,” he said.
Being built under Project Hotel, the hydrographic vessel will be supported by a survey motorboat which has already been delivered to the South African Navy by Veecraft Marine – an aluminium boatyard in Cape Town, which sadly no longer exists.
With multi-beam and single-beam echosounders as well as a side-scan sonar and seabed sampler, the motorboat allows for nearshore shallow water surveys in depths of up to 300m.
The Nigeria Navy, on the other hand, has taken delivery of two new vessels over the last five years. Commissioned in December 2021, the NNS Lana is a state-of-the-art 60 m hydrographic survey vessel designed to strengthen Nigeria's maritime capabilities, while the smaller NNS Ochuzo was commissioned in May last year.
Equipped with an array of survey instruments, the NNS Lana boasts dual multibeam echosounders for shallow and deep-water seabed mapping, alongside single-beam echosounders, a side scan sonar, and a sub-bottom profiler to ensure comprehensive underwater surveys.
With a length of 35m and a beam of 8.15m, the aluminum-alloy Ochuzo has a range of 300 nm and performs a wide range of hydrographic and oceanographic tasks. The Nigerian Navy also operates four survey launches to complement the work of these two vessels. These smaller boats bring hydrographic surveying closer to coastal areas and inland waterways.
The RV Baía Farta was delivered to the Angolan Ministry of Fisheries in 2019 and is equipped with systems that allows the 74m vessel to undertake seabed mapping. The Ministry also operates three smaller vessels, the Kianda, the Keve and Kilamba for coastal and port mapping activities.
Celebrating World Hydrography Day
With hydrographic services falling under the auspices of both Navies as well as port authorities within Africa, several events were hosted across the continent to mark the day.
The South African Navy mobilised two of its new patrol vessels, one of their frigates as well as their survey boat to celebrate the day in East London while the Nigerian Navy hosted the three-day West African Hydrographic Summit in Abuja to deliberate on strengthening regional collaboration in hydrography through joint surveys, shared geo-spatial data platform and capacity building.
The Ghana Maritime Authority’s Hydrography Team attended the event in Abuja and toured the NNS Lana. Director General of the Ghana Maritime Authority, Dr Kamal-Deen Ali participated in a panel discussion and emphasised the importance of collaboration and knowledge sharing and highlighted the critical need to chart inland waters to ensure safe navigation.
The need for collaboration between government agencies, research institutions and the private sector was also highlighted at the South African event in East London.
PHOTO: The GMA Hydrography Team, alongside the Ghana Navy and GPHA Hydrographer, paid a benchmark visit to the Nigerian Navy Hydrographic vessel, the NNS Lana. (Source: Ghana Maritime Authority Facebook Page.)
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