Chelsea: SeaSoar Oceanographic Recorders in Service with UK Royal Navy

When most people think of warships, they think big guns, missiles and helicopters. But for the Royal Navy’s hydrographic vessels the most important systems they carry aren’t necessarily their weapons, but their state-of-the-art underwater survey suites.

Four Chelsea SeaSoar undulating oceanographic recorders (UORs) are currently in use on the Royal Navy’s survey vessels, HMS ECHO and HMS ENTERPRISE. These UORs are towed behind the ships collecting a vast range of information using highly advanced oceanographic sensors.

Collecting enough accurate data to maintain the Admiralty’s collection of 3,300 nautical charts (used by seafarers all over the world, not just the Royal Navy) is a mammoth task but HMS Enterprise and her sister ship HMS Echo are well equipped for the job.

Data from the Chelsea sensors is displayed in real time providing the operator with a comprehensive mapping system. In addition this data is dispatched to the UK Hydrographic Office for analysis and inclusion into navigational charts which are relied on by seafarers around the world.

“Chelsea is providing 25 years through-life support for these UORs,” said Chelsea’s Bruce Kimber, “BAE Surface Ships Support, underlining the MoD’s commitment to the undulating oceanographic recorders has just commissioned a 10 year service of two of these systems, with the remaining two having their 10 year in-life service scheduled for the summer of 2013”.

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Press Release, April 29, 2013