MetOcean Solutions improves amphibious operation safety for defence

MetOcean Solutions has been recognised for its SurfZoneView software, which is designed to assist defence personnel in making amphibious landings by modelling and visualising surf conditions.

The company was awarded the annual Minister of Defence Industry Awards of Excellence for 2016 in the 'Provision of a product to Defence for less than $15 million' category, which was presented by Defence Minister Gerry Brownlee.

"The safe transfer of equipment and personnel from sea onto land is fraught with difficulty for any agency operating in the nearshore environment," said MetOcean Technical Director David Johnson.

"Beach landings are notoriously dangerous, but through modelling the wave and current conditions we can identify safe transects and landing spots. The user inputs the bathymetry of the area of interest and specifies the offshore wave conditions, and the tool does the rest.”

MetOcean Solutions is now making the tool commercially available to navies, civil defence agencies and coast guards around the world.

"MetOcean Solutions provided forecasts for the naval landings in Kaikoura in connection with evacuation of people following the earthquakes there," said Johnson.

"The creation of SurfZoneView was an excellent collaborative project in which we worked together with the New Zealand Defence Technology Agency to take their concept from vision to reality. It is a great example of applying leading-edge oceanographic science to solve real-world problems."

Image courtesy of MetOcean Solutions.