The 4th Lebanon-Italy bilateral meeting to support the newly established Lebanese hydrographic service ended last Friday in Beirut.
At the naval base of the Lebanese Navy, in an atmosphere of cordiality and cooperation, the Italian and Lebanese delegations met to check the progress of the numerous ongoing activities.
Among these, the most important concerned the specialist training in hydrography with the participation of a Lebanese officer in the II level University Master in Marine Geomatics - Category A, and two non-commissioned officers in the Qualification course for hydrographic operators - Category B, both organized in Italy by the Hydrographic Institute of the Navy - IIM and internationally recognized.
In addition to this, a series of "on job training" internships - carried out last April in Genoa for the use of topographic and geodetic instrumentation as well as high resolution surveys in shallow waters -, the verification of some port hydrographic surveys carried out in Lebanon, independently by Lebanese personnel, both in the port of Beirut and along the coast near the naval base of Jounieh.
The surveys were carried out using a hydrographic vessel equipped with the most sophisticated bathymetric survey equipment and with state-of-the-art data processing software. It should be noted that vehicles, materials and courses are an integral part of the support that the Navy provides to the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) as part of a larger support project managed by the Defense Staff.
The hydrographic activity has also allowed the identification of a wreck which represented a danger for navigation.
The meeting continued with the planning of activities for 2018, among which the following deserve attention:
- the Technical Agreement in the hydrographic and cartographic field for carrying out joint hydrographic surveys and the subsequent production of cartography and nautical publications;
- the strengthening of the hydrographic infrastructure of Lebanon through the supply of a second boat for high resolution surveys;
- the execution of a Hydrographic Campaign in Lebanese waters with an Italian Hydrographic Unit to continue with the collection of bathymetric data and the updating of the nautical cartography of the area.
At the end of the meeting, the Lebanese Navy, represented by Admiral Majed Alwan with his staff, thanked the Italian Navy and the Italian Defense for the continuous effort made in supporting the project, demonstrating that Lebanon has gained the necessary awareness on the subject. hydrographic, to start the realization of the National Hydrographic Infrastructure and make the country independent and capable of operating autonomously, according to the indications of the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO).
