SKQ Cals 2026

Sikuliaq's 2026 shipyard and drydock will affect most of the transducers on the ship. The EM710 array will be entirely removed. A new centerboard shoe, including an entirely new multibeam system, an EM2042, will be installed. This will require patch testing of the EM2042. The EM304, our primary multibeam, will also have the fasteners for the ice windows replaced which will require re-leveling the transducer arrays. A SAT test would be appropriate after doing this. One of the EK80 transducers will be replaced, and all of them will be moved, either onto the new shoe, or to a new "Ice Can" on the sonar flat. The Beaufort sea shelf, Bering sea and Chukchi seas are all relatively shallow with very little being mapped at the resolution that the EM2042 will offer. Every year we have multiple funded cruises working in these areas. This calibration cruise would ensure the new multibeam system is fully functional after installation. We're requesting 3 days for the most important tests on the two multibeam systems. This is the minimum amount of time needed for QAT testing, per discussions with the MAC.