Case Studies
Port of London Authority
Stellar customer service provided Ports of London with confidence and ease of mind
Ports & Harbours
The Client Profile
The Port of London Authority (PLA) Hydrographic Service employs three survey vessels and 18 staff to conduct over 400 surveys each year, providing wide-area monitoring, dredge support, and asset inspection surveys across the 400 square miles of the River Thames and Thames estuary. These surveys serve the purposes of safety of navigation, conservancy and environmental monitoring, and detailed engineering works.
The London Gateway Dredging Project 2004
The PLA team began investigating multibeam echosounder systems (MBES) for the London Gateway dredging project in 2004, recognizing the advantages of 100% coverage for exact volume calculations, superior obstruction detection, and proven accuracy in delivering special order surveys. The team monitored different MBES products and manufacturers over the next ten years, and in 2014, added a new boat to their fleet, launching a Request For Quote (RFQ) to identify the best MBES manufacturer for their needs.
Sonic 2024
The ports of London chose Sonic 2024, which offers wideband selectable operating frequencies and Ultra High Resolution (UHR) inspection capability. The UHR feature enables the surveyor to detect inch-wide bars in 10-20 meters of water without sending down a diver, saving time and money. We offered the client superior customer service that is faster, more flexible, and less complicated, including free technical support accessible 24/7 via cell phone and email. The MBES technology also offered seamless integration with the client's software platforms, a price-competitive six-year warranty, and a simple user interface for ease of operability. Additional features, such as the quad mode, have been identified for future development, in order to provide key differentiators to our client's customers.
"We want to offer additional features, like the quad mode, anything that’s a game-changer, where we can offer a key differentiator to customers, because they’re always looking for something new." says John Dillon-Leetch
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