Port Record Reminds us of Security Importance

Cody Warner | August 14th, 2015

July 2015 will go down in history as the highest month of cargo volume in the 104 year history of Long Beach's Port. As one of the largest ports in the United States and the world, these types of records are important indicators of a not so young industry that continues to thrive. Shipping remains the most cost effective option for world trade and is responsible for 90% of the world's cargo transport.

The thriving industry is not going anywhere any time soon and is important to many regional economies around the world. This positive economical impact draws attention from criminals as well, which can have devastating effects on an industry. There has to be trust, especially in an industry where businesses depend on the shipping company to deliver their goods from point A to point B. This trust is destroyed when criminal activities such as piracy take place, even when it is out of the shipping companies control.

It is up to port authorities and governments to protect the shipping industry and thus protect their economy. Maritime Security begins at our Ports, where hull and cargo inspections have to be thorough and ensure that ships are not used as "mules" for criminal activity. The hull is one of the most common areas for contraband, weapons and bombs to be hidden and discretely delivered. It is important that each and every hull is inspected upon entering a Port.

Minimize security risks at your port with ROVs

The threat of inspection alone will reduce the amount of attempts at hiding illegal materials on the hulls. Having security measures in place will deter criminals from thinking they can get away with placing contraband on the hull. The problem with many inspection solutions is the cost of operation and maintaining them and they are too time consuming for it to be properly executed at every port.

Dive teams are costly and take hours to deploy, there is also always a risk of sending a human into a situation where they are submerged beneath a structure like a cargo ship, especially when the risk exists of a bomb being placed on the hull. Large ROVs also take a long time to deploy, require topside power limiting their accessibility at ports, require constant maintenance and have a high initial investment.

Deep Trekker aims to solve this problem by offering ROVs that are built to take a beating without breaking the bank.

Deep Trekker ROVs are a portable and easy to use solution that enables every hull at every port to be inspected thoroughly using both a 270 degree rotatable camera and sonar technologies.

Maritime Security efforts begin with the discussion. The topic will be broached and the best minds of port security will meet in San Diego next week for Maritime Security West 2015. Come check us out at Booth #4 or contact us for more information on our Port security systems!