Representatives of the UK Hydrographic Office (UKHO) are currently in the Cayman Islands to deliver the results of a seabed mapping programme to the Lands & Survey Department.
The programme will help to improve the safety of navigation in Cayman waters and ensure the territory is fulfilling its international maritime safety obligations under the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) Convention.
The project is part of a wider programme to improve maritime charts across the Overseas Territories and was facilitated by the Governor’s Office and funded through the UK’s Conflict Stability and Security Fund (CSSF).
The project is based on the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) capacity-building model which has three phases:
? Phase 1 is to collect and circulate nautical information to mariners via the Maritime Safety Information System;
? Phase 2 is the identification of areas to be surveyed and their prioritisation and the conduct of surveys;
? Phase 3 is the publication of new charts with data from Phase 2, which is undertaken by UKHO on behalf of the Cayman Islands.
In 2017 the UK Hydrographic Office undertook a survey of the waters to the west and south of Grand Cayman and also of the south western tip of Cayman Brac. The data from these surveys was released to the Lands & Survey Department at a workshop held at the Government Administration Building Tuesday, 17 July 2018.
Chris Thorne, Head of Partnering and Engagement at the UKHO for the Caribbean region, commented, “the reason for carrying out these surveys was the fact that the data on the current charts is old and does not meet modern standards for safety of navigation.The new surveys using modern equipment ensures that we fully capture all of the features on the seabed and identify any dangers, as well as allowing other scientists to carry out research based on the information and to allow governments to use this data for planning for the future”.