maritime features, including depth of the sea, detecting wrecks & obstructions, natural shoaling, etc. that directly affects maritime navigation, marine construction, dredging, offshore oil exploration/offshore oil drilling, and other related activities. Hydrographic survey is a dimension and picture of the physical features of the navigable portion of the earth‘s surface and adjoining coastal areas. This survey helps in determining underwater deepness through investigations, such as navigation, location of sand bars, rocks, and navigation light.

The Hydrographic Survey Equipment vendors are placed into 4 categories based on their performance and reviews in each criterion: “visionary leaders,” “innovators,” “dynamic differentiators,” and “emerging companies".

Vendors who fall under this category generally receive high scores for most evaluation. They have a strong and established product portfolio, and a very strong market presence. They have strong business strategies, and provide mature and reputable products and services. These players focus on emerging markets, such as Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa.

They are established vendors with very strong business strategies. However, they have weaker product portfolio. They generally focus on a specific type of technology related to the product.

Innovators are vendors that have demonstrated substantial product innovations as compared to their competitors. They should have a focused product portfolio. However, they do not have very strong growth strategies for their overall business.

They are vendors with niche strength of product portfolios and are starting to gain their position in the market. They do not have strong business strategies as compared to other established vendors. They might be new entrants in the market and require some more time before gaining significant traction in the market. Factors affecting the growth of these vendors are size of the firms, niche markets, and government policies. Currently, oil & gas is a mature industry, which offers market participants opportunities for huge economic returns. With the start of offshore oil & gas exploration/exploitation, hydrographic data has become vital. Offshore oil and gas development is rapidly accelerating and undergoing dramatic changes. In hydrographic survey, offshore surveyors are involved throughout the exploration and development phases of offshore oil and gas production, which involves mapping the seafloor, measuring soil conditions, waves, tides, etc. A range of equipment are used for oil & gas surveying, such as ROVs and AUVs with innovative techniques comprising seismic, acoustics, electrical, and magnetic surveys, and using a wide range of survey vessels. Most of the demand for offshore oil & gas survey is arising from developing economies, such as India, China, South Korea, Brazil, etc. Ports & harbors serve as economic hubs for several maritime economies worldwide; the infrastructure of modern ports require survey and maintenance of seaward routes and passages on a continuous basis. Hydrographic surveys of ports and harbors are undertaken primarily to support safe navigation of vessels, and are necessary to decide if the dock space is deep enough to support various types of barges and boats required to keep the facility operational. Cable/pipeline route surveys are required to accurately position pipeline routes, and determine pipeline condition and stability. Pipeline surveys require hydrographic survey equipment, such as side-scan sonars, Differential Global Positioning Systems (DGPS), sub-bottom profilers, and AUVs/ROVs. Underwater cable suppliers and survey companies conduct cable route surveys to identify seabed risks, such as reefs, steep slopes, rocky seabed, etc. These surveys involve a collection of bathymetric and geomorphologic data using hydrographic survey equipment to determine the composition and geotechnical properties of the seabed. Ultimately, these surveys determine the processes for the installation and maintenance of underwater cable or pipeline routes.