Ecospan has a number of well equipped survey vessels some of which are available for hire with a skipper to external organisations. Alternatively, we are more than willing to act as a sub-contractor for any specialised sampling programmes.
RV Coastal Surveyor
Coastal Surveyoris a well equipped, 7.9 m twin engined Sea Cheetah catamaran. It is an MCA category 3 workboat licensed for 6 people which is capable of working in coastal areas up to 20 miles from a safe haven. Due to its vey low draft, it is also suitable for estuarine and inshore work. The vessel is easily towed by our Landrover and is regularly deployed all over the UK . Typical uses include hydrographic work (e.g. ADCP, bathymetric surveys and dye studies), ecological investigations (e.g. sediment sampling using day grabs) and diving surveys. It is also occasionally used in support of our hovercrafting operations when required.
Specification
LOA 7.9m (26ft)
Beam 2.7 m
Draft 0.4 m
Weight 2.0 tonnes
Engines: 2X Honda BF90hp 4 stroke
Max speed 26 knots
Cruising speed 19 knots
Fuel capacity 180L
Standard equipment
Additional equipment
Trimble DSM132 DGPS
Simrad GPS and plotter
Simrad Radar
Simrad echosounder
Seapro navigation software
Winpro survey software
ICOM DSC VHF
Deck lights
Search light
13 hp hydraulic powerpack
Spencer Carter winch and davit
Deckwash
12 V and 240 V electrical systems
All safety equipment as required by the MCA
ADCP
Sonarmite single beam high frequency echo-sounder
Aquatracker
Day grab
Van Veen grab (0.1m 2 , 0.05 m 2 or 0.1m 2 )
Water samplers (bailers, NIO bottles etc)
Hovercraft
Ecospan Environmental Ltd operates a BBV4 four man 4.9 m hovercraft which was specifically purchased and fitted out for undertaking inter-tidal surveys over mud flats. The hovercraft is powered by 4 stroke engines that make it dramatically quieter than 2 stoke craft and have significantly improved fuel efficiency. The craft is fully certified by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.
It eliminates most of the major safety concerns associated with working in such environments.
Due to its unique design it is possible to sample without leaving the safety of the cockpit.
It is extremely rapid, thereby drastically reducing sampling time and enabling samples to be taken over large distances.
It is able to access areas that are not accessible by other means.
It does not damage the environment. The hovercraft leaves only very light tracks as it travels on a cushion of air. These are not visible after one tide.
Rigid Hulled Inflatable "Pagrus"
Pagrus is a well equipped, 6.5 m, twin engined, MCA category 3 workboat licensed for 6 people. It is capable of working up to 20 miles from a safe haven as well as being suitable for estuary or river work. The vessel is easily towed by our 4 x 4 van enabling its use anywhere around the UK or Europe .
Pagrus also has 2 VHF radios, a Simrad CE33 dGPS chart plotter (which can be linked to PC plotting software), a dual frequency colour echosounder and a fluxgate compass. It can be fitted with a variety of other specialised equipment and survey instrumentation (e.g. ADCP) and is used extensively for hydrographic work, ecological survey work and as a support vessel for diving and hovercraft operations.
Zodiac Inflatable
This 5.5 m inflatable boat provides support to Ecospan's other MCA coded boats where more than one vessel is required. It is also used for a wide range of projects on inland lakes and small rivers where the use of a larger boat is impractical.
