Pushidrosal Commander Vice Admiral Nurhidayat with Indonesian Navy personnel at the Coordinated Hydrographic Survey Exercise Indonesia-Australia 2023 at JICT Priok Port in Jakarta on September 29, 2023. (Photo: antaranews.com) Pushidrosal Commander Vice Admiral Nurhidayat informed that the joint survey, which was launched on September 29, is the first to be held by the Indonesian and Australian navies.
He said the coverage area for the survey is quite wide and it will also be carried out for two months in 2024. Pushidrosal aims to carry out a joint survey in all of the Indonesia-Australia borders, he said.
For the joint survey, the Indonesian Navy deployed KRI Spica-934 warship from Pushidrosal to Indonesia's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). Meanwhile, ships from the Australian Navy and the Australian Hydrographic Agency (AHO) will also sail along their EEZ on the Timor Sea border.
According to Nurhidayat, 63 personnel have been deployed for the survey, and two Australian Navy personnel will tag along with KRI Spica-934.
During the survey, Indonesia and Australia will collect seabed data in their respective EEZs, including maps of the seabed, sea tunnels, current patterns, and tidal patterns, he said.
Nurhidayat said that the two countries will exchange data, but only general data and not specific data that consists of information regarding the five-meter layer below the seabed (sub-bottom profile) under the full control of each country.
He explained that the data obtained from the survey results would be used as material to prepare underwater maps, especially for the border areas of Indonesia and Australia.
The maps will be useful for the navigation of commercial ships and construction, including the installation of cable and pipe networks on the seabed for telecommunications and internet networks, Nurhidayat said./.
VNA
