The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has contracted with Netherlands-based Fugro to provide five years of hydrographic surveying services in the United States.

The contract was issued by NOAA’s National Ocean Service, Office of Coast Survey, to support the creation and maintenance of highly accurate nautical charts. Fugro has worked continuously with the agency on similar contracts since 1998.

“Over the past 20 years, NOAA has been one of Fugro’s key clients in the US,” said Mark MacDonald, hydrography director for Fugro in the Americas. “Through this long and valued partnership, we have pioneered the use of multiple bathymetric surveying techniques, such as airborne lidar bathymetry, to improve the efficiency, quality and safety of shallow water surveys. We are honored to help NOAA fulfill the country’s hydrographic data needs and look forward to continuing innovation and delivering on future NOAA task orders.”

Fugro will manage all work associated with the new IDIQ award from its Houston-based Hydrography Centre of Excellence in the Americas. Fugro established the centre in 2017 to address the region’s growing need for hydrographic services. Since then, the centre has successfully developed innovative data acquisition systems, which are complemented by remote processing and large data transfer capabilities.

The new contract runs from Jan. 1 2020 to Dec. 31 2024. Fugro is one of seven contractors who will receive task orders under the new contracting program. The total maximum value of work to be shared among all contractors is $250 million.

Photo shows Fugro survey data.