Aussie technology to map US waters

By Darryl Johnston

DSTO developed technology has been selected above several other international contenders to survey and chart US territorial waters.

In April Tenix LADS Corporation’s US Subsidiary, Tenix LADS Inc, signed a contract worth up to $US12 million with the US National Oceanographic & Atmospheric Administration for the supply of Laser Airborne Depth Sounder (LADS) survey services for the next three years.

LADS technology was originally developed in Australia in 1992 to update charts for Australia’s coastal waters, in conjunction with DSTO and the Royal Australian Navy Hydrographic Service. Subsequently the system was commercialised by the Australian-owned Tenix Corporation.

Tenix LADS has begun survey work using the new generation LADS in an area near the Shumagin Islands on the Alaska Peninsula. Company President, Tom Spurling said LADS is a marvellous example of DSTO and industry cooperating to produce a world-leading product.

“Tenix LADS has been selected ahead of several multinational companies, after a five-month evaluation process and several years of marketing. We are extremely proud that US authorities are calling on our company to play such a significant role in their charting and hydrographic surveying.

“We are confident that this contract will provide a platform for more work with other US Government agencies. LADS can survey shallow waters up to 20 times faster than survey ships and at 30 per cent of the cost, and that’s creating opportunities and interest worldwide.”

“Tenix LADS has recently fulfilled contracts to survey coastal regions of Tenerife in the Canary Islands, Palm and Miami Beaches in Florida, as well as northern Europe and the Middle East,” Mr Spurling said.

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