Hydrographic surveys are used to produce depth data, for example, for the creation of nautical charts, the planning and maintenance of fairways, and the design and implementation of construction projects. Depth data consist of either comprehensive point-based measurements or line-based measurements.
Availability of Depth data
Depth data are available without a permit from Finland’s maritime economic zone as well as from the Vuoksi and Kymi river basins. The coverage and reliability of depth data vary depending on the time and location of the measurements.
Through a permit procedure, it is also possible to obtain depth data from other areas of Finland. The Territorial Surveillance Act restricts the systematic measurement and recording of seabed features within Finland’s territorial waters. Under the Act on the Openness of Government Activities, hydrographic survey data may be classified as confidential. If the data receive an information security classification, conditions are imposed on their release. For these reasons, all data requests can not be fulfilled.
Pricing for data deliveries is based on the number of work hours used. The hourly rate is €200/hour + VAT (minimum charge 1 hour).
If you need depth data, follow these steps
Check whether the depth data is available as open data
Depth data, such as depth contours, depth areas, and depth points, can be downloaded for free via the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency’s (Traficom) viewing and download service. The data are also available through an interface service.
Request for depth data electronically
If the depth survey data you need is not available through open data, you can request the data through the electronic service. The service can be found under My e-services > Information Services and Hydrographic Data.
- Fill in the contact details of the applicant
- Specify the location from which you are ordering the depth survey data
- Indicate if you already have a permit for using depth survey data
- State the intended use of the depth survey data
- Provide billing information
The pricing for data delivery is based on the number of working hours required for the task. The hourly rate is €200/hour + VAT (minimum charge 1 hour).
Please note that if the data request is made on behalf of a company or organization, the person submitting the request must have signing authority for the company/organization or a power of attorney (for handling permits and notifications related to maritime traffic) from a person who has such authority.
Prepare the mandatory attachments
When ordering data through the electronic service, an area boundary for the location from which you are ordering depth survey data must be attached. The area boundary must be provided as a separate zipped Shape file.
We will verify whether the data delivery requires a permit and whether the data is classified for information security. We will contact you if the data delivery requires a permit or if the data request cannot be fulfilled.
You will receive a download link via email
Traficom uses the ShareFile file-sharing service for data delivery. We will send you a download link to the data via email.
Product description of depth measurement data
Depth measurement data is delivered in raster format as a GeoTIFF file. It is a depth model product where the cell values represent the depth from measurement observations within each cell area. The product is continuously updated, and its coverage expands with new hydrographic surveys. The depth model may consist of surveys conducted at different times and with different methods.
| Coordinate system and vertical datum | ETRS-TM35FIN (EPSG:3067) N2000 height system (EPSG:3900), which corresponds to BSCD2000 (EPSG:10678) as the reference level for depths in Finnish marine areas. |
| Resolutuon | 1 m |
| Cell values | shallowest depth, average depth, deepest depth |
Terms of use
The public depth measurement data is licensed under Creative Commons 4.0 (External link)The source of the data must be attributed as required by the license.
Traficom requires the following attribution format when using the data:
"Source: Finnish Transport and Communications Agency. Not for navigational use. Does not meet the requirements of an official nautical chart."
Usage terms for confidential data are defined in the data release agreement.
