A variety of local businesses are trying to pull together a $4 million demonstration
project for the Port of Providence by the close of this year that could have
huge applications in the homeland security and defense market. If the funding
comes together, the hope is that the beta system could be in place before the
end of the year.
Neighboring companies KeySpan (liquefied natural gas) and ProvPort (liquefied petroleum gas) have both agreed to allow their tanks to be equipped with video cameras and sensors as part of the trial. The proposed test area will span a little more than a mile of the Port of Providence’s coastline, extending between the two tanks at the head of Narragansett Bay.
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During the yearlong experiment, sonar devices would be placed against the bulkheads of the tanks and video cameras would be placed on the shore along with a variety of other measures, including a tripwire that extends in an arc out into the bay.
“We’re ready to go,” said John Riendeau, defense industry manager at the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation, of the project’s hardware, the bulk of which is already in existence. “It’s all standard, off-the-shelf technology,” he said.
All the necessary technology will come from a handful of the state’s small businesses, which the EDC has been in talks with over the last year. The discussion began at the first Rhode Island Homeland Security Business Conference & Expo in Newport, held in the spring of 2003, as homeland security officials continued to stress the importance of increasing the country’s port security.
Riendeau began talking with representatives from defense giant Raytheon. The company runs its Integrated Defense Systems Center out of Portsmouth and has long been working on Project Athena, a joint program with the Coast Guard, seeking to provide surveillance and protection of the coast and surrounding areas.
Peter Mottur, president and CEO of Newport’s LiveWave, has been doing work with federal and local agencies for several years. The company supplies cameras, encoders, servers and digital video recorders for coastal and harbor video surveillance, and sells security devices to other public transportation hubs such as subway systems and airports and provides security for some federal buildings. Later this summer, the company will provide perimeter security for the Democratic National Convention in Boston.
“What we’re offering here is a whole solution,” Mottur said. “If I’m in charge of port security, I can tell you what I want, but not how to get there. … This is something that could address my security needs immediately and be deployed rapidly and still be very cost effective if I’m one of those medium- and smaller-size ports.”
Mottur said funding is always an issue when it comes to security. While major ports in New York or Los Angeles might not have to worry about the price of getting a quality system in place, it’s tougher for a local government to assemble the parts of a system piecemeal.
Other partners for the first phase of the Providence project include Portsmouth’s SonicWorks and Middletown’s Rite-Solutions (providing coastal and harbor undersea surveillance with anti-swimmer and listening devices). Middletown’s PURVIS Systems will play a role in the creation of the wide-area incident tracking system that will relay information to the proper authorities and ensure an emergency response. The companies have contributed $850,000 of in-kind support for the project.
“The potential threat is an obvious one and that’s the underwater component,” Riendeau said. “You can already see what’s above the surface.”
Joe Marino, president of Rite-Solutions, which will help in creating the systems where all the data comes together, said one key to the system will be the instantaneous fusion and dissemination of all information being collected. Eliminating or reducing false alarms is every bit as important as ensuring threats are recognized. He said the chance for the state to be at the forefront of the issue is important.
“This whole initiative can demonstrate Rhode Island’s ability to really take the reins on this issue,” said Marino, who echoed Mottur’s praise for the EDC organizing the effort. “We can be the leader,” he said. “Once that core competency becomes known through the nation, it won’t just be Rhode Island and local dollars flowing into the system.”
Two weeks ago, the partners and the EDC submitted a $820,000 proposal to the U.S. Department of Energy to cover sonar, video and other elements of the response system. Last week, Riendeau and EDC Executive Director Michael McMahon traveled to Washington for meetings with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the Federal Department of Transportation and the Department of Homeland Security. At the end of the month, the state’s congressional delegation will be asked to submit a $2 million request for funding for the second phase of the project.
Phase II will officially bring on board Raytheon and Narragansett’s Applied Science Associates. Raytheon will contribute coastal surface surveillance on the water and from the air. Applied Science will help with the final elements of the emergency response program that aims to deliver information to personnel in Providence, East Providence and to state officials.
The Naval Undersea Warfare Center and the University of Rhode Island’s Graduate School of Oceanography have also contributed expertise to creating a viable demonstration project.
Riendeau said the initiative makes sense, especially considering the knowledge base in the state, pertaining to the underwater world, is considered second to none. The Naval War College, which regularly deals with event simulations, will also assist with first responder capabilities, applying federal-grade response systems to the public sector.
The Port of Providence was selected because of its deep waters, proximity to a big urban center and its infrastructure, which includes bridges and a major airport in proximity to the head of the bay. Those same attributes are found in many bigger ports, where the only palpable difference is lower amounts of vessel traffic.
“The Port of Providence is a very good microcosm to how the rest of the country looks,” Riendeau said. While no LNG tankers are coming through the port, yet, the area still contains a mix of hazardous materials in proximity to a significant population.
The demo site would run for a year and be tested periodically, Riendeau said, which would include putting divers into the water to attempt unannounced approaches.
Of the security systems currently deployed by Keyspan and ProvPort, Riendeau said the beta program “would be an improvement,” even with additional measures that have to be in place by July 1 under the Marine Transportation Safety Act.
In terms of Rhode Island’s own economy, Riendeau said Providence is a critical port for the state. He said a dollar amount can’t be placed on the costs of the fuel, heating oil and gas that comes through the port, or what the costs would be if those materials had to be shipped in from a Connecticut or Massachusetts port.
Townsend Goddard, special projects manager with the EDC, said the initiative is a good example of the innovation-at-scale concept the EDC is trying to link Rhode Island to in the minds of businesspeople around the nation.
“A lot of times, as a small business, you focus on the day-to-day operations of it all,” LiveWave’s Mottur said.
“This project, with the help of the EDC is really helping all of us think outside the box and see the vision of it all. … This is something the market needs and there are a lot of ways to make this a success. I think that’s going to happen.”
