• Exploring the Bermuda Triangle's swirling vortices

    Researchers, funded by the Office of Naval Research, deployed twenty-one underwater probes to study vortices at the Bermuda Triangle; a vortex is a swirl of water that can be created in several ways, including water being pushed between land masses and then released into the open ocean; the oceanographers did well to lose only one of the underwater probes, considering they were studying the notorious Triangle

  • High-seas piracy? There will soon be an app for that

    The U.S. Navy is sponsoring research aiming at developing Web applications to help multinational navies police the world’s oceans

  • CBP tests streamlined cargo security procedure

    U.S. Customs & Border Protection’s (CBP) launched Simplified Entry Pilot, which allows participants to file a streamlined data set much earlier in the import process, thus providing more time to identify security threats

  • NY-NJ Port Authority centralizes security operations

    The Port of Authority of New York and new Jersey has created a stand-alone Security Department and is now searching for a Chief Security Officer to oversee all security and safety functions, resources, and personnel

  • Lego pirate proves, survives, super rogue wave

    Scientists have used a Lego pirate floating in a fish tank to demonstrate for the first time that so-called “super rogue waves” can come from nowhere in apparently calm seas and engulf ships

  • New cargo screening unveiled

    Smiths Detection’s new HCVMe uses the power of a 4MeV X-ray accelerator and can scan loaded cargo containers with a steel penetration of 200 mm

  • Coast Guards blocks Hawaii bay to protect president

    The Coast Guard has established a security zone in the waters of Kailua Bay to protect the president on his family during their holiday vacation; unauthorized people entering the zones are subject to penalty of $40,000 for each violation or a criminal penalty resulting in imprisonment of twenty-five years; the exclusion zone will be in effect until 7 January

  • Underwater drones help NYPD secure harbor

    The New York Police Department (NYPD) has a new high-tech ally in its fight to keep the city safe from terrorists; to help sweep the city’s waterways and bridges of dangerous bombs, the NYPD’s Harbor Unit recently acquired six unmanned underwater drones that help sniff out explosives

  • Underwater drones help police keep harbors safe

    Growing attention to underwater security along U.S. coasts has resulted in an increasing reliance on a relatively new tactical weapon for the police: an unmanned submersible drone, often referred to as a remote-operated vehicle, or ROV. The NYPD has six of these underwater drones, similar to those in use by the United States military and by oil companies with offshore operations.

  • U.S. deploys radiation detectors in Chinese port

    As part of its ongoing efforts to secure terrorists from attacking the global shipping system via cargo container, the United States recently reached an agreement to deploy radiation scanners at the world’s largest container processing port in Shanghai

  • Pierce County Washington effort to upgrade marine fleet stymied by cost

    The Pierce County Sheriff’s Department needs a new patrol boat. The problem? A $730,000 price tag which has county officials balking

  • Delaware launches marine security unit

    Last week, Delaware showed off the latest additions to its law enforcement arsenal, two new high-tech boats aimed at protecting the state’s waterways and critical infrastructure; the boats come with the announcement of a new maritime patrol unit that will be staffed by three full-time state troopers and two part-timers

  • BSI will develop new system for screening cargo

    DHS Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) has awarded a contract to BSI Group’s Supply Chain Solutions business unit for the creation of a protocol to aid the screening of cargo at U.S. ports

  • Somali pirates adapt and thrive

    Somali pirates have grown bolder and more clever in adapting to world attempts to curtail piracy; last month, they recorded their first hijacking of a ship anchored in port; total costs of piracy now reach $12B

  • Poor oversight, cost overruns plague Coast Guard’s modernization efforts

    More than $7 billion and ten years later, the U.S. Coast Guard has only built two ships out of its original twenty-five year, $24.2 billion plan to replace its aging fleet with more than 250 new or upgraded vessels; given the service’s procurement track record, Congress is hesitant to continue funding a program plagued by cost overruns, delays, and management problems