Inland waterways

Inland waterways are critical components of the globe’s supply chain infrastructure. In the USA, the Mississippi / Missouri water system and the Great Lakes system transport significant quantities of bulk commodities and agricultural products. The unprecedented drought conditions in Europe have shown how vital the Rhine and Danube river systems are to European commerce.

Several activities must be carried out on a regular basis to ensure the health and efficient operations of these transport routes. Channels must be mapped and surveyed to ensure proper depths under keel and to identify and remove foreign objects that pose a hazard to navigation. Locks and canals must be inspected to ensure they are able to pass vessel traffic safely. An increasing focus on protecting and preserving habitat for fish and wildlife requires scientific instruments to monitor the species themselves, and any threats arising from pollution or industrial activity.

Kongsberg supplies sensors that are used for real time dredge monitoring, detection and measurement of turbidity in the water column, sensors for civil engineering inspection of locks and canals, and scientific instruments used by researchers responsible for environmental protection.

Sub-bottom profiling

Not all areas being dredged are soft material. There can be a number of solid obstacles in the area to be dredged that can damage dredging equipment if not identified prior to operations. These can include unexploded ordnance, rocks, buried pipelines, and uncharted tramp material like lost anchors or dumped materials. Sub-bottom profilers can identify solids so they can be removed prior to dredging operations.

Species monitoring

Kongsberg has sensors for measuring biomass in ocean and lake water columns. Navigable river systems do have an environmental impact - they sometimes create an artificial barrier to aquatic species like fish and eels. Kongsberg has environmental sensors that provide scientific data about the water column and the species in it - important data required for today's increasingly stringent enviromental permits.

Siltation monitoring

Siltation is a significant issue for navigable river systems. Siltation can create grounding hazards for shipping. Kongsberg has sensors for periodic mapping of rivers, and for permanent continuous monitoring of critical areas. This provides users with situational awareness that allows for immediate intervention to prevent a problem before it impacts shipping operations.

Dredge monitoring

Dredging is a key service to ports and harbors, inland waterways, dams and coastal regions. Dredging operators must conduct their operations to meet the contract performance requirements while operating within environmental regulations. Dredgers also need to dredge to the contracted depth - but ideally, only the contracted depth since over-dredging only adds costs and wear and tear to equipment without any financial recovery from client.

Channel survey

Many river systems have high siltation loads. Several data regions are also subject to hurricanes and typhoons with their associated storm surges. River authorities need to regularly survey their channels and locks to ensure their clients can operate safely. Kongsberg offers single-beam and multi-beam echosounders for high accuracy survey in these critical areas.