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The Civil Hydrography Programme

The MCA manages a multi-million pound budget to systematically survey the waters around the U.K. This programme is known as the "Civil Hydrography Programme".  

Under the programme, commercial contracts are let regularly to ensure accurate hydrographic information is gathered for updating the nation's nautical charts and publications. The Maritime and Coastguard Agency work in close cooperation with the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office who assist us in discharging the United Kingdom's national hydrographic obligations under the International Convention for Safety of Life at Sea.

Survey areas are prioritised using a risk analysis methodology.  The Civil Hydrography Programme does not cover waters within port authority limits.

Currently, three major contracts are managed by the MCA to secure the gathering of hydrographic data.  The respective contractors are:

CHP Boundary

The extent of the "Civil Hydrography Programme" area of responisbility  (shown in red)

To view which areas have been surveyed by the MCA since 2004, click on the following link to download an ESRI "Shape File" of CHP survey areas:

Download CHP survey areas shapefile (0.8Mb) (version 4, updated May 2012)

 

The Limits of MCA Hydrographic Survey Responsibility

In 1997, the MCA contracted the Department of Maritime Studies and International Transport (University of Wales) to undertake a study to determine the limits of the MCA's hydrographic survey responsibilities.

The report took account of the nature of the marine environment in UK waters, its use and relationships among environmental, use and survey factors.

Six main coastal offshore regions were identified in the reprot (in a surveying context).  The authors then broke down the UK area into three regions in terms of use intensity.  Survey history was then considered and a hydrographic survey prioritisation map was determined.

The report authors consulted with 22 organisations from a variety of regions, activities and designations.

The study put forward a textual description, together with a small-scale chart, defining the limits of the MCA's hydrographic survey responsibilities. This has now been further refined by the MCA to include limits defined in an international agreement (signed in 1999) between the UK, France, Holand and Belgium in the vicinity of the Dover Strait (see above chart).

It should also be noted that the "Civil Hydrography Programme" (administered by the MCA) does not cover hydrographic surveying activities within Port Authority limits.

The definitive outer limits of the MCA's area of hydrographic survey responsibilities can be downloaded in ESRI "Shape File" format by clicking on the following link:

Download ESRI "Shapefile" of MCA Survey Responsibility Limits (0.7Mb)