Tecnoambiente awarded strategic seabed mapping contract by the Catalan Government

Barcelona, September 30th, 2021 | Tecnoambiente has been awarded a multi-year contract by the Ministry of Climate Action, Food and Rural Agenda of the Catalan government to conduct the seabed and marine habitat mapping of the entire Catalan coast. The project, which is co-financed by the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund in 75%, includes within its scope: hydrographic and geophysical surveys, sampling of soil and water tested in Tecnoambiente’s own laboratory to enable biological characterization of the area, underwater video recording with ROV and scientific diving, and all the related data processing and reporting.

Covering 154.000 ha from the coastline to 6 nautical miles offshore, the results obtained will be used to produce a detailed digital map of the seabed, marine habitats and underlying geological units to allow the interpretation and generation of the new bionomic cartography product. All digital databases will be included in a GIS compatible platform to be shared with the available public resources.

The project plan considers the division of the survey area into seven sections taking into account the water depth and the distance to coast, among other parameters. The data acquisition of this vast area is planned for the rest of 2021 and all 2022, at all times when the metocean conditions allow to safely work offshore and to guarantee the acquisition of high-quality data.

In order to provide the flexibility and reliability required by the project, Tecnoambiente has acquired a new survey vessel (Festina Lente) of 16m in length. The vessel has been equipped with state-of-the-art survey technology and will be fully available to comply with the objectives and timelines of the project. Moreover, the addition of the Festina Lente to Tecnoambiente’s existing vessel fleet, consolidates the company as the leading provider of coastal and offshore survey and environmental services in Spain.

Albert Valcárcel, Managing Director of Tecnoambiente, said: “This is a truly exciting project for us not only because it fully connects with our company purpose to “enable sustainable progress”, but also because it helps fulfil our commitment with our home environment and community. We are proud to lead an effort that will provide understanding and awareness on the importance of the protection of marine habitats and species, its extent and distribution. Especially in a context where the information obtained will be vital to successfully plan, manage and balance the urgency to protect marine biodiversity and fight against climate change, whilst fostering the blue economy, and in particular the energy transition and digital transformation, dependant on offshore windfarms and submarine communication cables, respectively.”

About Tecnoambiente

Tecnoambiente, founded in 1980 and a wholly owned subsidiary of TRADEBE, is a multidisciplinary consulting company with four business lines: Marine Survey, Environmental Consulting, Sustainability & Climate Change, and Environmental Testing & Inspection. With broad experience in the marine environment, Tecnoambiente has a proven track record of delivering a wide range of solutions in offshore, and coastal, projects in Europe, Africa, South & Central America. Our key projects comprise hydrographic, geophysical and geotechnical surveys, environmental and oceanographic studies, and subsea inspections, provided to clients in the offshore Oil & Gas, Renewables and Submarine cables sectors, as well as Ports, Fisheries and other marine related industries. Beyond the marine environment, Tecnoambiente provides environmental studies for onshore projects, advisory on sustainability strategies, ranging from waste management to ESG factors and sustainable finance, and laboratory testing on environmental matrices.  Currently, Tecnoambiente is formed by more than 100 qualified specialists. Our headquarters and main laboratory are located in Barcelona. National offices are located in Andalucía, Aragón, Canary Islands and Galicia. International offices are located in Peru and Colombia. Nonetheless, the company delivers projects globally.