Following the terrorist attacks of September 11th, State and Federal officials gave high priority to maritime shipping as a potential vehicle for terrorist attacks in America. In November of 2002, the Intermodal Transportation and Port Security Pilot Project was created under the Maritime Transportation Security Act. This project promotes port security through joint operations, unified command, interagency cooperation, and information/intelligence sharing. For Charleston's port, the project established the Charleston Harbor Operation Center Task Force, commonly known as Project SeaHawk. Project SeaHawk is a unified law enforcement and intelligence operation designed to deter and prevent terrorist acts; manage a joint operations center for tracking maritime and other modes of transportation operation in the Port of Charleston; establish an interoperable system for intermodal data sharing and intelligence gathering; and provide a test bed for innovative concepts, initiatives, and equipment related to port security. From the outset, NLECTC-Southeast has provided technical assistance to the project, notably in the areas of interoperability and the identification of innovative technologies. In addition to assistance in the design and development of Project SeaHawk's initial information technology capabilities, NLECTC-Southeast is assisting in the development of new technology projects, such as an event-driven camera monitoring system that incorporates sensors, cameras, thermal imagery, and radiation dispersion detectors.
A Safe Port in the Storm
NCJ Number
211949
Date Published
2005
Length
2 pages
Annotation
This bulletin describes the technical assistance offered by the National Institute of Justice's National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center-Southeast (NLECTC-Southeast) in the implementation of Project SeaHawk, the core component of the effort to upgrade security for the port of Charleston, SC, the Nation's fourth busiest container seaport.
Abstract
Date Published: January 1, 2005