INTEGRATED MARINE SURVEY · PAPUA NEW GUINEA

Hydrographic & Geophysical Survey in Papua New Guinea

One continuous seabed dataset, from shallow coastal water to depths beyond 335 metres.

Client

Tailored Spatial Solutions

Region

Papua New Guinea

Fieldwork

13–19 June 2026

QOffshore role

Hydrographic & geophysical survey subcontractor

Survey systems

Ping DSP · NORBIT Winghead · Innomar SBP

Survey vessel

Toanui

The client issue

Tailored Spatial Solutions needed a reliable picture of a coastal and offshore survey corridor for engineering interpretation and design integration. The work had to establish water depths, seabed shape and shallow subsurface conditions across an area where shallow embayments give way to steep, deep offshore terrain.

A depth chart alone could not provide the whole picture. Bathymetry, seabed imagery and sub-bottom profiles needed to share a common reference so the engineering team could use them together.

17.35 km²

Survey area

1.2–335.7 m

Observed depth range

1.5 m

Final bathymetric grid

Acoustic survey techniques

The survey challenge

A large depth transition

The corridor extended from approximately 1.2 m nearshore to more than 335 m offshore. Different acoustic systems were needed, with enough overlap to verify that their measurements joined consistently.

Combining three survey techniques

Bathymetry mapped depth and seabed shape, side-scan sonar recorded seabed imagery, and sub-bottom profiling investigated shallow material beneath the seabed. Their value depended on coordinated acquisition and interpretation.

A constrained coastal setting

Irregular shorelines, confined embayments, tides, navigation interfaces and changing water properties required adaptive survey planning and real-time coverage checks.

How QOffshore delivered the survey

Working from the survey vessel Toanui, QOffshore planned and delivered a coordinated hydrographic and geophysical programme. Mobilisation included measured sensor offsets, configuration checks and navigation-interface testing.

Nearshore acquisition: Ping DSP provided interferometric bathymetry and side-scan sonar in shallow sections.

Offshore and subsurface acquisition: NORBIT Winghead multibeam covered deeper water, while Innomar Compact sub-bottom profiling characterised shallow subsurface conditions.

Processing and integration: Qinsy supported acquisition and real-time coverage control. Qimera was used to clean, validate and merge the bathymetry, check crosslines and overlap, and generate the final 1.5 m surface.

The overview shows the depth pattern in its coastal context. The 3D view at the top of this page makes the change in seabed shape easier to see. Together, these illustrate the coverage that had to be joined into one continuous model.

The result

Nearshore Ping DSP and offshore NORBIT Winghead bathymetry were merged into a continuous 1.5 m surface. Crossline and overlap checks identified no systematic vertical bias between the datasets.

The completed data were assessed as suitable for seabed interpretation, chart production, volume assessment and design integration. Final deliverables were submitted to and accepted by Tailored Spatial Solutions.

Survey deliverables

Continuous 1.5 m bathymetric terrain model and XYZ point data
Bathymetric contours, profiles and chart products
Nearshore side-scan sonar and sub-bottom profile information
Crossline, overlap and uncertainty quality checks
Survey report supporting engineering interpretation and design integration

Why it mattered

The engineering team received one integrated technical record spanning nearshore and deep water. Common referencing and quality checks made it possible to compare and use the sensor outputs together, with clear continuity across the survey area.

This gave subsequent engineering work a consistent basis for understanding seabed geometry, assessing volumes and incorporating the survey into design, rather than having to reconcile disconnected survey products.

Explore our hydrographic survey services for water depths and seabed geometry, alongside our geophysical survey services for seabed imagery and shallow subsurface investigation.