Securing Cargo and Ports with Advanced Security Technologies

Due to the fact that ports are commonly perceived as a susceptible area when it comes to national security, a discussion about rising security technologies that can help control these locations and their resources can not be more appropriate. many security solutions exist today to bring port and cargo security to greater standards, these solutions may vary  from cargo container security equipment, to biometrics that ensure that only authorized truck drivers gain entrance to ports to complex, intelligent digital video security devices, to vehicle barricades and trace detection technology that thwart terrorists from driving bomb-laden trucks into the properties.

Driving the Evil-doers away

On an international level, ports are deploying counter-terrorist vehicle management systems to ensure that unauthorized vehicles are not capable of entering secure port areas and wreak havoc on shipping procedures. A perfect target for a truck bombing can be almost any port. A well planned attack can practically destroy a port's infrastructure and, essentially, send ripples through the economy of the whole world.

The Naval Station Pearl Harbor in Hawaii is using automated, linear gates as an attempt to offset this and defend susceptible piers. As part of an overall regional attempt to enhance the force protection posture of critical assets at strategic locations the security equipment was deployed. This establishes a protective barricade between in-port assets and potential criminals and law violators.

According to anti-terrorism director of the Navy region in Hawaii the Navy deployed this barrier system in order to supply an adequate level of force protection while maintaining a high standard of competence on the piers. Said another way, they have been able to increase their force protection posture without affecting the mission of fleet sustenance. Prior to the installation of the gates, as an individual approached the pier, they came upon a swing gate watched over by a patrol. It was the sole responsibility of the guard to evaluate and then deny or grant admittance. A bad guy only had to overcome the sentry to access the piers.

Luckily, many of the docks now have a gate or kiosk system that guards the sentry, who remains in the gatehouse and cannot be fiddled with. Credentials have to be passed through a pass window to the sentry by anyone attempting to gain access to the property.

"On the other hand, even if an individual could take out a guard in the gatehouse, they will still not be able to get through the dock area," According to anti-terrorism director. When operating them in an automated mode during slow periods, many of these new gates resemble 'force multipliers' for the security administration. This is due to the fact that an automated gate minimizes overall manpower needs and frees up security guards to perform other missions critical to force defense such as patrol, counter surveillance and arbitrary examinations.

At the end of the day, there will be a guard in a central location managing any one or all of the gates, depending on mission necessities.

According to the naval facilities construction team leader, the piers of Pearl Harbor are now less vulnerable to acts of terrorism then they were before. Not to mention that the automated gates provide an anti-terrorism force protection barrier between piers and the roadways that provides service to submarines and ships. Furthermore, the Physical security upgrades, such as this, along with anti-terrorism awareness preparation, helps make the Navy less susceptible to acts of terrorism and any other attacks.

Pearl Harbor also utilizes Delta's transportable blockades, which are towed into place and set up in about fifteen minutes in addition to the permanent, crash-rated gates produced by Delta Scientific. According to the naval facilities construction team leader, the permanent barriers and transportable barriers are incorporated with a series of other force protection apparatus and measures to achieve an anti-terrorism system based on a tactical and thorough defense technique.

These barriers of anti-terrorism are also successful in securing civilian ports from potential attacks. For instance, anti-terrorist barriers protect the international cruise ship terminal at the Port of Sydney in the Australia's Sydney Harbor. These barriers lie flat in the road until triggered, at that instant they spring up at a forty five degree angle and effectively stop a speeding vehicle before it enters the area.

In addition to that they can stop and destroy a 14,000-pound vehicle moving close to fifty miles per hour. Not to mention that these barriers are able to survive and function well even after a 1.2 million foot-pound impact even though they are established in a foundation of only 18 inches deep.

On the other hand, At the Port of Sydney Harbor, the barricades hinder speeding vehicles from getting past the guard post at the Overseas Passenger Terminal at Circular Quay, where about ninety vessels are predicted to dock during the demanding months of the summer. Just about one hundred and sixty thousand passengers are projected to pass through the port, representing a major component of Australia's tourism trade. CCTV cameras, exclusion zones and security patrols represent the other heightened security procedures.

Granting access to authorized individuals

It is equally important to let the good guys in Just as it is important to keep the bad guys out. A variety of Biometric systems are already being utilized at numerous ports all around the world to heighten security and make sure only authorized people access these susceptible facilities.

Rotterdam and Antwerp, which are Europe's two largest ports, utilize Schlage Recognition Systems biometric hand geometry readers together with smart chip cards as a fast method of identifying drivers as an attempt to quickly move cargo through its facility, while still maintaining extremely high security. This has allowed them to avoid costly transport delays while still ensuring the highest level of security protection. The card itself appears like a normal credit card, however, the chip in the card is a minicomputer that captures and saves a 3-D template of the left hand of the owner and holder of the card.

There are countless benefits and advantages to the biometrically-enhanced system. To name a  few: the data can not be manipulated or modified; the driver does not have to recall exact data such as a PIN; the card cannot be transmitted to other individuals; errors as a result of typing in incorrect ID numbers are not possible.

Both ports now have the ability to rapidly and precisely confirm the identities of authorized workers and visitors at port entrances through utilizing biometric systems. The security solution which is biometric-based enhances security and safety, as well as operating effectiveness.

Inside Ports Procedures management

A security company called Ingersoll-Rand has constructed a proposal that aims to incorporate security and port operations technology in ways that will help manage prices.

According to the vice president of maritime solutions with Ingersoll-Rand Security Technology the main goal of a port is to remove cargo off boats and put it on railcars or trucks, for the most part, ports keep track of individuals with time-and-attendance setups. The chief ports use biometrics to manage access and outlets. They make full use of complicated asset tracking solutions. Only now they are granted with the ability to incorporate increased security into each procedure.

As an example, ports can verify video of what has happened and what is happening to a specific container as it moves from ship to shore and beyond through tying a DVR to asset tracking. Systems of access management can function with transportation worker identification permits.

According to the vice president of maritime solutions, TWIC is presently getting tested at the ports of Florida and Philadelphia as well as Los Angeles Long Beach, Calif., and Ingersoll-Rand is proposing systems in which forklifts would not function without TWIC utilization. The certified operators are the only once capable of carrying out this task. After that, the sensors would then track the forklift on its trips around the port's premises.

Checking out Explosive items

A great deal of the technology that is now being utilized, or presently being constructed, to detect traces of explosives in air cargo also is finding its place at shipping ports all around the nation.

In a recently announced report deployed by the Department of Homeland Security program, trace recognition technologies, for instance GE Security's VaporTracer, which is presently getting used in Iraq to identify roadside bombs, will be utilized in a $30 million pilot program to monitor passenger aircraft cargo for potential explosive items at San Francisco Airport's air cargo premises and two other airports in the U.S. A chief principle of the program (which is essentially a partnership between DHS's Science and Technology Directorate and the Transportation Security management) is to use presently available commercial technology for scanning cargo of the airplanes.

Explosive recognition interfaces, other explosive trace detectors and standard X-ray machines, as well as canine teams and manual inspectors are only a few of the systems or techniques that are now used for baggage screening that also will be carried out for cargo scanning.

Understanding the technological and operational issues associated with explosives detection for air cargo constitutes the main objective of the Air Cargo Explosives Detection pilot program. This effort will present vital facts to help in making future decisions on the national air cargo security infrastructure, as well as aiding in the research and development planning to sustain the security of air cargo.

DHS is already providing financial support to the development of new screening technologies for explosives such as advanced X-ray systems that can scan entire pallets all at once as an attempt to advance and enhance this field of technology. In addition, this technology can also prove to be vital for detecting explosives in shipping docks.

The program of S&T Countermeasures Test Beds offers DHS with an objective and independent testing potential. This setup presents data about scientific, economic and operational issues related with technologies deployment. In addition, this plan supplies information to decision makers as to which technologies are appropriate for different missions such as cargo at shipping harbors.

Inspection for altered Cargo Shipments

Containerized freight is a recognized vulnerability due to the 60 million cargo containers that are moving all around the world and approximately 27,000 coming into the United States on a day to day basis. The reality of the matter is that the majority of people believe it is much more likely that terrorists will target maritime cargo than airline transportation to do real damage; this is supported by the fact that a U.S. port closure is estimated to cost up to one trillion US dollars., Despite the fact that, technology is now available to protect cargo vessels.

For example, the world renowned Starbucks Company is already deploying GE's CommerceGuard on shipments of green coffee beans coming from Guatemala, heading for Europe the and United States.

It puts forth a container security apparatus that allows the monitoring of container movements, including door-opening actions, and regularly updates users throughout the entire intercontinental shipping procedure. For the duration of a three-month test period with Starbucks, the CSDs precisely captured and saved all door-opening actions. In addition, the CSDs were effortlessly deployed and armed in remote coffee-growing areas all through the examination period.

According to executive vice president of Starbucks' supply chain operations, Starbucks is acquainted with the fact that improving global supplies chain security while reducing the risk of suspending container traffic, contributing to real-time control and quality assurance are essential in order to guarantee that worldwide commerce can operate in a wide range of security circumstances. In addition they are taking a proactive approach in securing their supply chain to ensure the safety of their partners (employees), customers, patrons, countries of origins and communities. CommerceGuard is essentially an enabler in helping them move towards that their final objective.

The CSD holds fast magnetically to the inside of a global cargo vessel. Handheld as well as fixed scanners record the status of the CSD in a database that can be accessed by certified importers, shippers and government officials from any location in the globe.

Keeping an eye on the docks

Ports have already recognized the need for advanced video security management systems due to the emergence of ever-increasing security demands. The multifaceted supervision systems of a port can be fairly pricey. As a result, a large amount of ports are installing systems that endorse both new and legacy surveillance apparatuses within a large-scale, intelligent video platform that offers optimal networking potential.

For example, the port of Miami River uses a broad, incorporated video surveillance system to augment security at its port businesses, which manages more than four billion US dollars worth of commerce to and from the, South and Central America as well as the Caribbean.

Due to the terrible events of Sept. 11, 2001 attacks; the port secured two federal grants from TSA in order to raise security through installing video surveillance interfaces.

About eleven day/night GE PTZ cameras with infrared capabilities were purchased by the first grant. They were installed along the Miami River. The visual footage from these cameras is broadcasted wirelessly to a command center on the river and then to local law enforcement departments.

On the other hand, the second TSA grant allowed the marine group to deploy a more extensive, fully incorporated video surveillance system that includes the group's twenty-member workstations. This highly sophisticated, day/night color supervision apparatus includes more than two hundred cameras, 20-Triplex DVRs as well as forty 21-inch color screens. The cameras with the day/night supervision are deployed in weatherproof accommodations.

The twenty workstations can now observe cameras remotely via the Internet on site. The visual footage also can be observed at a central monitoring station by neighboring law enforcement departments in case of an emergency or a federal naval security Level 3 alert notification. A robbery occurred in front of a port business almost immediately after the system went online thanks to the system the police officers were able to access the recorded materials.

Enhancing the Security of the Ports

 
The present laws which call for increased U.S. funding for port security to offer universal examination of incoming cargo and other measures to prevent smuggling of nuclear biological, or chemical weapons. Even though this is a first step towards the right direction, even improved examination attempts will only have an effect on a fraction of all shipments of cargo. Nevertheless, there is a lot that private industry can now carryout to guarantee that assets ranging from cargo to ports themselves (not to mention invaluable human resources) are secured. Not only does the technology exist but it is also effective and affordable.

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