Objective is to update six nautical charts of the Lower Amazon region
by First Lieutenant (RM2-T) Augusto Rodrigues – Belém, PA
From May 17 to July 6, the Brazilian Navy’s Northern Hydrography and Navigation Center (CHN-4) conducted a hydrographic survey on a 714 km² stretch of the Amazon River, between the municipalities of Almeirim and Prainha, in the Lower Amazon region, western Pará. The objective is to update six nautical charts, in compliance with the Hydrography Work Plan for 2023.
The survey was carried out by means of the Hydrographic Beacon Ship (NB) “Tenente Castelo”. With a length of 37.51 meters, a breadth of 8.83 meters, a beam of 3.5 meters (height of the hull, from the keel to the deck) and a draft of 2.56 meters (measurement of the submerged part), the vessel is equipped with navigation radar and two echo sounders. The crew is composed of 27 military personnel.
“The survey is of paramount importance for the safety of navigation, safeguarding human life and preventing water pollution in the region, whose population depends almost exclusively on the waterway modal for locomotion and supply of commerce”, evaluates the Commander of the NB “Tenente Castelo”, Captain-Lieutenant Kássio Barbosa.
Nautical charts
Nautical charts are cartographic documents that result from surveys of ocean areas, seas, bays, rivers, canals, lakes, lagoons or any other navigable body of water and are intended to serve as a basis for navigation.
These documents provide information on depths, hazards to navigation (banks, submerged rocks, sunken hulls or any other obstacle to navigation), nature of the bottom, anchorages and anchorage areas, aids to navigation (lighthouses, beacons, buoys, beacons, alignment lights, radio beacons), altitudes and notable points for navigators, coastline and island contours, tidal elements, currents and magnetism and other indications necessary for the safety of navigation.