Naval Officers Undergo Echo-Sounder Training
Ten naval officers are undergoing skills training to operate a multi-beam echosounder.
The echo-sounder will upgrade the Fiji Navy Hydrographic Office’s capacity to meet international standards.
It is a device for determining the depth of the seabed or detecting objects in water by measuring the time taken for sound echoes to return to the listener.
The 30-day training is provided through a hydrographic survey jointly done by the Fiji Navy Hydrographic and Korean Hydrographic and Oceanographic Agency at Pacific Harbour.
Fiji Navy Chief Hydrographer, Lieutenant Commander Gerard Rokoua, who is among the few who attained a Master of Science in Hydrography from India, said the training was of great significance to the Fiji Navy.
It is an on-going programme since 2008 to help Fiji meet the level where it would be internationally recognised as a competent authority in hydrography in Fiji and the region. “They are training us on a multibeam eco-sounder as opposed to a single beam eco sounder where you use a single acoustic beam. “This one here has many acoustic beams,” he said.
“This one gives you a three dimensional picture of the bottom of the ocean, 150 metres from one side to the other, you can cover 300 metres in a three dimensional picture - this is what they are training us,” he added.
The Korean Hydrographic and Oceanographic Agency at the end of the training would also donate a set of multi-beam eco-sounders to the Fiji Navy.
“With a single beam, in the past we weren’t able to achieve the highest standards for special surveys Class 1A (Alpha), those ones require full bottom coverage.
“With a single beam we can’t have full bottom coverage, with this we will achieve that 100 per cent coverage that the international maritime community requires for them to visit our ports,” he added. Economically, Lieutenant Commander Rokoua said it would guarantee the safety of our ports in regards to the depths and navigation. He also thanked the Korea Hydrographic and Oceanographic Agency for their assistance for the last 16 years.