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FST Conducts Surveys in Bangladesh

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS100316-18
Release Date: 3/16/2010 2:12:00 PM

From Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command Public Affairs

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. (NNS) -- The Navy's Fleet Survey Team (FST) is completing the final report of a survey it conducted earlier in March of the Karnaphuli River at Chittagong, Bangladesh, strengthening the relationship between the Bangladesh and U.S. navies.

"We conducted the survey as an emergent requirement to confirm the existing charts, because the area is highly dynamic, and U.S. Navy ship visits were planned," said Cmdr. Rich Delgado, FST commanding officer. "So [the survey] was for situational awareness to support port visits and support security cooperation in the region."

USS Ingraham (FFG-61) and USNS Safeguard (T-ARS-50) have visited since the actual survey work was completed, and USS Patriot (MCM-7) is scheduled to visit this month. The field chart made from the survey data was delivered in advance of the final report.

The survey team worked directly with the Bangladesh Navy on the project. The two navies have partnered in a number of projects through the years.

In the latest operation, a five-member team spent two weeks surveying the harbor from a Bangladeshi hydrographic survey launch equipped with FST single-beam echosounder and towed side-scan sonar. The Naval Oceanographic Office, FST's parent command, prepared a field chart from the data that FST collected.

Using single-beam and sidescan sonar, the team also was able to locate a ship that wrecked in 1991. The Bangladesh Navy was aware the ship existed but pinpointing its location was important to them, partially because local fishermen must be aware of its presence when casting their nets.

Fleet Survey Team is a rapid response team with capabilities to conduct quick-turnaround hydrographic surveys anywhere in the world. It is a direct enabler of the nation's Maritime Strategy: "A Cooperative Strategy for 21st Century Seapower." FST enables maritime security, based on U.S. Combatant Command-prioritized requirements through safety of navigation surveys with our partners and allies. And FST is instrumental in maintaining old and building new relationships and partnerships to assure U.S. Navy and partner nation access wherever it may be required.

FST is comprised of approximately 65 military and civilian members. It is collocated with the Naval Oceanographic Office and Commander, Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command at Stennis Space Center, Miss. The Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command is the parent command of the Naval Oceanographic Office.