A longstanding cooperative survey agreement between the United States and the Kingdom of Bahrain was renewed July 27.

The agreement allows U.S. and Bahraini hydrographers to continue conducting surveys in the coastal waters of Bahrain with shared platforms, equipment and expertise. Charts produced from these surveys enhance safety of navigation.

Discussions to renew the agreement began November 2015 with meetings between Rear Adm. Tim Gallaudet, commander, Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command (CNMOC), and Sheik Salman bin Abdullah Al-Khalifa, president of the Survey and Land Registration Bureau for the Kingdom of Bahrain.

"Partnerships such as these promote understanding and improve capabilities which lead to safety at sea," said Gallaudet.
Cooperative surveys conducted at the Khalifa Bin Salman port, and subsequent chart updates by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), enabled a first-ever pierside visit by a nuclear-powered U.S. Navy aircraft carrier, USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69), in 2009. More recent surveys have resulted in required larger-scale approach charts.

The initial U.S.-Bahraini survey agreement was signed in 2001 following a successful pilot survey of Mina Salman Harbor. The agreement was renewed in 2007 and 2011. Signatories for the most recent amendment included Gallaudet and Frederick Kemp, director, International Affairs, NGA, for the United States and Salman for the Kingdom of Bahrain.

CNMOC directs and oversees the collection, processing and exploitation of accurate, relevant and timely oceanographic, meteorological, hydrographic, precise time and astrometric information. CNMOC is assigned as CTG 80.7 under U.S. Fleet Forces Command and is part of the information warfare community.

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