Good Practice Guidelines for Hydrographic Surveys in New Zealand Ports and Harbours

Abstract

These guidelines provide guidance to decision-makers and operators for planning, carrying out and managing hydrographic surveys that:  support the safe navigation of vessels in New Zealand ports and harbours  help to protect our marine environment. The guidelines have been produced by Maritime New Zealand (Maritime NZ) and the New Zealand Hydrographic Authority, Land information New Zealand (LINZ). They are one of a series of guideline documents that support the New Zealand Port and Harbour Marine Safety Code 2020 (the Code) published by Maritime NZ. These guidelines are authorised under the Code. The Code is a voluntary national standard for the safe management of marine activities in New Zealand ports and harbours, and supports national and local legislation. The Code applies to:  operators of commercial ports  councils, as local regulators of maritime activity within their regional waters  Maritime NZ, as the national regulator of maritime safety and marine protection. The objective of the Code is to ensure the safe management of ships navigating in New Zealand ports and harbours, including the prevention of:  injury to people or loss of life  damage to the environment, particularly to the marine environment, but also to property. These guidelines inform and support all those involved in decision-making processes for planning, contracting, specifying and conducting hydrographic surveys in New Zealand ports and harbours. There are three core sections to the guidelines.  Section 2 is an overview for councils and port operators who are responsible for navigational safety of New Zealand ports and harbours.  Section 3 is guidance for harbourmasters, port engineers and surveyors who are responsible for managing surveys.  Section 4 is guidance for hydrographic surveyors who provide hydrographic survey services to councils and port operators. Annex 1 has extracts from the Code relevant to hydrographic surveying and Annex 2 gives information on Category of Zone of Confidence (CATZOC).