Case Studies
Bremen Ports
Ensuring the safety and efficiency of two major European ports involves the utilization of cutting-edge technology. The Sonic 2024 plays a pivotal role in this endeavor, as it provides a means to visualize the quay walls with unparalleled accuracy and detail.
Ports & Harbours
The Busy Ports of Bremen
The ports of Bremen and Bremerhaven are ranked among Europe's most important universal ports, providing a diverse range of services for handling various types of freight, from containers and cars to general and bulk cargo. With an annual throughput of more than 2 million vehicles, the ports of Bremen have established themselves as one of the world's largest automobile hubs, while the Columbus Cruise Center in Bremerhaven is a major terminal for cruise liners.
Hydrographic Survey for Analyzing Quay Walls
The smooth operation of these ports is critical, and bremenports GmbH & Co. KG plays a crucial role in ensuring their efficiency. One of the key tasks of the port authority is to conduct hydrographic surveys to assess the water depth and analyze the condition of the quay walls. To perform these tasks, bremenports started using the multibeam Sonic 2024 in 2016 aboard its survey vessel Seeadler. The system's high resolution and density of measured points make it possible to scan quay walls with precision and detect any manmade objects or obstructions on the harbor floor.
High Resolution Data for Multiple Survey Tasks
Bremenports has used the Sonic 2024 to identify and address several concerns, such as filling a local tidal scour hole in the Bremerhaven container terminal, assessing damage to a quay wall following a ship collision, monitoring the container quay, and analyzing the quay wall at the Columbuskaje cruise terminal. Bremenports has also employed the Sonic 2024's Ultra-High Resolution (UHR) 700kHz operating frequency, which emits the narrowest beamwidths on the market, and the Ultra High Density (UHD) mode, which increases the number of independent soundings to 1024, to improve accuracy and gain a clearer view of waterside infrastructure. While bremenports is still exploring the use of multibeam data for quay wall inspections, preliminary investigations have already shown the system's potential for analyzing and assessing the condition of waterside infrastructure. Moving forward, it is clear that a system such as the Sonic 2024 holds great potential for safety and monitoring applications in ports around the world.
Check out the white paper written by THORSTEN DÖSCHER, Chief Hydrographer at Bremenports.
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