Caribbean Survey for design of offshore mooring

In August 2006, Sea Surveyor conducted a complex hydrographic, marine geophysical and geotechnical survey in the Caribbean Sea near the Port of Haina, Dominican Republic for design of a single point mooring buoy (SPMB). The proposed SPMB includes an offshore mooring and pipeline-to-shore for delivering fuel to the Port. Sea Surveyor collected sonar images and sediment samples to thoroughly map the proposed SPMB site, and prepared a report and 2 charts summarizing the results and conclusions from the survey.

The marine survey used high-resolution sonar, differential GPS navigation, and modern (2007) computer software to map the SPMB site. The survey included:
• Measuring water depths (soundings) in a tightly-spaced grid for preparation of a bathymetric contour chart suitable for engineering design and navigation.
• Monitoring tides for correcting soundings to the MLLW tidal datum.
• Imaging the seafloor using high-resolution (600-kHz) side-scan to classify sediment type, identify geologic features, and locate man-made objects.
• Seismic profiling (2-16 kHz) to map geologic layers 7m below the seafloor,
• 24 sediment grab samples to confirm sonar classification of sand and mud, and 8 samples to confirm basalt or densely-packed sediments.