SHOA Servico Hidrografico y Oceanografico de la Armada de Chile (The Chilean Navy Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service) has recently taken delivery of a second new RESON sonar system.
The complete system will be installed on the launch Albatross and will help the Chilean navy with the development of new nautical cartography for Chilean waters. SHOA develops charts in electronic formats that are increasingly accurate, making them more compatible with the modern navigation systems used by the ships currently in service.
The total system comprises a SeaBat 7125-E high-resolution multibeam sonar, a NaviSound 410 Deepwater hydrographic and broadband echo-sounder and the PDS2000 software package.
The SeaBat 7125-E provides high-resolution bathymetry and imagery data in real time for extremely detailed 3-D representation of underwater features and seabed conditions. It has an operational depth of 400m and a swath coverage of 128° to 4.2 × water depth. The NaviSound 410 Deepwater hydrographic and broadband echosounder has an enhanced hydrographic echosounder that supports single channel operation, and has a high ping rate of 20Hz. The integrated software package PDS2000 allows seamless use of data files between data acquisition editing and chart production.
The Albatross launch and the RESON SeaBat 7125 sonar system were exhibited at the Exponaval Exhibition in Chile in 2008, and demonstrations were given to delegations and visitors from SHOA.