Installation criteria for CCTV at Shoreham Port included a long (6 km) and narrow (150m) site, public rights of way, and varied cargo handling requirements.
Also,a pair of protected nesting peregrine falcons and a salt environment. Installers Certainty Security have designed a CCTV solution that meets the port’s security obligations and adds to the efficiency of day to day operations, according to the port. The context is the International Ship and Port Facility Security Code. Harbour Master Capt Colin Crookshank says: “The code did not make immediate demands on us in terms of CCTV but we wanted to be forward-looking and exceed these requirements rather than meeting the minimum.” An estimate of the civil engineering costs of hard-wiring a CCTV system along the 8.2kms of the harbour and across its waterways was £150,000. Capt Crookshank adds: "The wiring would have been a nightmare, particularly since the optimum site for the information/observation hub is surrounded by water on all sides. Wire-free techniques seemed the obvious route but we immediately encountered a major hurdle. Line of sight transmission would often be unusable here as tall vessels when in port would block it." The installer recommended technology that could bend an RF signal round corners. Cliff Ross of Certainty says: “A wireless approach not only bypassed problems with tall buildings/objects such as grain silos but would extend coverage to the extremities of the harbour and breakwaters where we knew there was a need to monitor all marine craft and possible vandals. Colin simply needed this breadth of coverage. There is a consensus that marine activity will be the next arena for terrorists. In the current climate even the most innocent-looking, ship spotting enthusiasts collecting vessel names must be observed so that management have peace of mind." Products used include Ultrak domes and DVRs from Dedicated Micros. The wireless transmission system is by Farnborough-based Panoptech. The network provides a digital bridge between analogue or analogue-composite equipment, meaning that a client’s investment in conventional cameras is not wasted. The future at Shoreham may include transmission of sound, movement detection and ANPR (automatic number plate recognition). A benefit of the wire-free approach is that the cameras have become portable allowing security staff to observe any part of the estate, from a tanker terminal to general business units. The flexibility also means that the port authority is able to assist customs and immigration officials when required. While the western arm of the harbour is mainly used by private operators the port still has an interest navigationally in this area and is required to observe speeding vessels. The new levels of adaptability and responsiveness are of operational value and harbour staff will now be able to observe vessels entering in rough weather.
