Official Tasks 

One of our main tasks is to maintain the shipping routes, which corresponds to maintaining the infrastructure on land. Shipping routes are located where there is as large minimum depth as possible. This means that large ships will not go to ground if they follow these routes.

With the help of the system AIS (Automatic Identification System), we can see where the ships sail, how often they sail there, and what at depth they go. In this way, we get a good statistical foundation for assessing whether the shipping routes to be adjusted, or whether we can optimise the buoying and its location.

The seabed is changing
Many imagine that once you have buoyed a sea, it will keep forever. But the 106,000 km2 of seabed belonging to Denmark is changing. The seabed is affected by currents and waves, and therefore the depth conditions also change over longer periods of time. Therefore we continuously monitor the ocean depths and assess where the buoying should be placed and whether there is a need for new buoying.

Maritime surveys
The Danish Maritime Safety Administration’s inspection vessel, Jens Sorensen, is one of the ships that perform navigation surveys. Measuring the ocean depth occurs with an advanced echo sounder and it forms the foundation for new maritime maps. When Jens Sørensen is not performing maritime surveys, vessels like our second inspection vessel, Poul Løwenørn, are used as inspection vessels for the maintenance of the buoying and for sea inspections of the Danish waters.

Installations at sea
We are a consulting party when an offshore wind turbine, a Storebælt bridge or a jetty is going to be built. For example, we assess whether it is safe to place a bridge in that location in the sea, or if the ships might sail into it. We also make demands about the buoying of offshore wind turbines, bridges and other installations at sea, so that shipping in the area can detect a possible obstruction in good time.