The Hydrographic Service
Seafarers trust in nautical charts for safe navigation.
The Hydrographic Service is part of the Royal Netherlands Navy and informs seafarers about routes...
the seabed and underwater dangers such as shipwrecks.
That's how this navy service contributes to safe shipping...
and protection of the Netherlands' economic interests at sea.
The Hydrographic Service charts the sea for safe navigation for the Royal Netherlands Navy...
commercial shipping and recreational sailing.
Nowadays, navigation is done primarily using electronic charts...
but the paper ones are also still in use.
The service carries out depth measurements...
to chart the areas where ships can safely pass through.
Also, maritime boundaries are established in great detail so everyone knows where they are located.
The seabed of the entire Kingdom of the Netherlands is surveyed...
which also includes the Caribbean part.
The Hydrographic Service collects data on the seafloor...
the locations of wrecks and other underwater objects.
The Royal Netherlands Navy has two hydrographic survey vessels...
HNLMS Snellius, HNLMS Luymes...
and one expeditionary survey boat, Hydrograaf...
that scan and survey the seafloor.
Hydrographers concern themselves with the ever changing nature of the seabed.
They do so based on readings from their specialised instruments and other sources.
Hydrographic specialists can be deployed for military operations...
such as amphibious landings, emergency aid operations...
hurricane relief, to resurvey a harbour...
but also to support civilian authorities...
in finding shipwrecks or lost sea containers...
and of course to survey underwater infrastructure, such as cables and pipelines.
The expiditionary survey boat can, in potentially dangerous situations...
identify any risks underneath the water...
at a great distance from the mothership.
This allows operations of the navy to be performed safely all over the world.
The Hydrographic Service charts the Netherlands' sea area...
and the Caribbean part of the kingdom.
The service is located in The Hague where the surveyed information is processed...
into publications like nautical charts and notices to mariners.
This naval service contributes to safer shipping...
and to the protection of national interests at sea.
The Hydrographic Service informs mariners about fairways and depths.
The service provides them with nautical charts...
that very precisely show the maritime borders of the kingdom.
These charts are also used for the larger inland waterways.
The Hydrographic Service creates both electronic and paper nautical charts...
and also a number of nautical publications.
Among those are sailing directions, tidal stream atlases...
tide tables and notices to mariners.
The Hydrographic Service, to protect the Netherlands' interests at sea and promote safe shipping.
The Dutch Ministery of Defence Protecting what we value