Port Security - The Challenges

Being a major entry point in any country, seaports warrant special attention when it comes to security. Besides the obvious concerns such as unauthorized access, cargo theft and smuggling, post 9/11 terrorist fears and piracy concerns have all made it vital that seaports are given a critical infrastructure status in nations across the globe. 

What are the challenges when installing security systems at seaports?

Given the large number of equipment's that make up a seaport security solution and the complexity of integrating them, ensuring that non-intrusive security is indeed a core issue. Whatever the systems installed, it should not interfere with the daily operations at the port. But from a systems integrator’s (SI) or a solution provider’s perspective, this is only one among the many such concerns. 

An often neglected part of seaport security is underwater threats. The reliable detection of underwater intruders － and discrimination from marine fauna － is a notoriously difficult problem, with ports being one of the most complex, thanks to reflections of dockside walls and constant noise from vessel movement.

The primary concerns begin from selecting the right equipment that can withstand the conditions and perform at the optimum level. Given the environment, a general norm would be ruggedized industrial products. 

The major challenges are mostly related to the environment, “Salty air, due to the proximity to sea, dust, and the kind of cargo being handled in the port/terminal will all affect the physical parameters of the system.” Ensuring proper network connectivity is also a challenge due to the constant activity at a seaport. Accidents such as cable being unearthed or a cargo vehicle snapping an over-ground cable could happen at any time. Natural events such as weather and lightning strikes will also have a magnified impact at seaports. 

Ports cover large geographic areas that include varied perimeters that are not capable of being secured the same way as you would approach most perimeter security applications, For example, fences aren't feasible for the waterside segment of a perimeter. Physical barriers also do not provide the necessary situational awareness over the large areas typical for a port setting. Lighting is often poor or unavailable, and ports are often adjacent to public areas or neighbourhoods where pedestrian intruders represent both security and safety threats.

How difficult is it to upgrade old security systems to new solutions?

Then there is the issue of old equipment that is already in place. “Upgrading entire server suites or replacing existing cameras with megapixel models can be very affordable, but once infrastructure. “Fortunately, as seaports move to IP based systems, this provides them the flexibility to more easily upgrade to other IP based sensors and migrate to faster servers or cloud based systems with minimal impact to infrastructure.”

What’s the current technology? What’s the future?

The equipment that goes into most modern seaports would naturally include the state-of-the art security solutions split into centralised and decentralised solutions with analytics at the edges.

“Radar video surveillance solutions are often installed to transmit radar and video to a central security centre, which allows port officials to monitor ship traffic in the channel,” If a suspicious vessel or individual is identified, then high resolution PTZ can be deployed.

While such equipment is relevant, an increased awareness of potential sophisticated threats and an eye on ROI have heightened the need to improve the options. 

3D imaging solution allows greater accuracy, depth, and detail in validating the threats,” “This saves precious time spent traditionally on physically opening and inspecting each container. This technology can also be applied to enhance precision and coverage during night surveillance.” 

Contact us at [email protected] www.optilan.com