Australian Navy hydrographic survey ship HMAS Leeuwin has utilised a new capability to provide extremely detailed, 3D images of the sea floor during its survey deployment to Papua New Guinea.
The Kraken Robotics’ Katfish, a towed synthetic aperture sonar system, provides the hydrographic team aboard Leeuwin with ultra-high resolution images of the sea floor.
HMAS Leeuwin has deployed from Cairns on a month long regional hydrographic survey mission in support of the Government of Papua New Guinea.
The mission supports the production of nautical charts, improving the safety of navigation in PNG waters, and provides mentoring and training to embarked Papua New Guinea Defence Force (PNGDF) personnel.
HMAS Leeuwin is the lead ship of the Leeuwin class of hydrographic survey vessels operated by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN).
The RAN Hydrographic Service has responsibility for charting more than one-eighth of the world's surface, stretching as far west as Cocos Island in the Indian Ocean, east to the Solomon Islands, and from the Equator to the Antarctic.