Safer River Navigation

Aids to Navigation company Hydrosphere has been chosen to help make the River Crouch, UK, safer in preparation for an increase in commercial usage of the river expected next year. The revision of Crouch buoyage has been implemented by the harbour authority in readiness for shipping bringing spoil from London's Crossrail project entering the Crouch and unloading at the new RSPB Wallasea Wild Coast project. 

Up to half a dozen ships a day are expected to enter the river taking clay, chalk, sand and gravel from the construction of one of Europe's largest civil engineering projects, Crossrail, the 73-mile rail link from Maidenhead and Heathrow, to Shenfield and Abbey Wood, to the RSPB's wetland creation scheme, Wallasea Island, which is due to be transformed into 1,500 acres, nearly 2.5 square miles, of tidal wildlife habitat.

 

Mobilis buoys for the Whitaker and Outer Crouch areas marking the 4m contour line have been supplied by Hydrosphere, changing the aids to navigation in the area providing clearly marked navigation channels.

 

The Outer Crouch has been stripped of its aids to navigation would be entirely featureless above half tide, with few clues as to the whereabouts of the Buxey Sand to the north, Foulness Sand to the South or the ‘mid-river' hazards that are the Swallowtail and the sunken Buxey.

 

The buoys, Mobilis JET2000 using THV Alert, were deployed by Trinity House acting as contractor for the Crouch Harbour Authority, with their environmentally-friendly qualities and sustainability a large factor in the choice.

 

Each buoy is 1.9m in diameter, 3m high and has a 3m focal height. The total weight of each is 550kg and each comes complete with a self-contained solar powered light. The hull is made using two sections surrounding a central polyethylene core structure providing a strong, lightweight buoy able to be easily handled and maintained by small craft.