Pam Hurst, HSTW Chair, opening the Conference and welcoming the Attendees to the Marriott

Bob Bannon presenting a global view of Homeland Security

The IEEE – Oceanic Engineering Society (IEEE-OES) and NAVSEA-Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) co-hosted the third IEEE-OES Homeland Security Technology Workshop - Ocean and Maritime Technologies for Infrastructure Protection at the Marriott Hotel and Resort , Newport, RI on December 6, 7, and 8, 2005. As with the past workshops, the theme was “Under the Water, On the Water, and Over the Water” for the Protection of the Homeland. The purpose of the workshop was to bring together small technology companies, and large defense contractors, military, government, academia, and not-for-profit institutes who are developing technologies and products for Ocean and Maritime Technologies for Infrastructure Protection This IEEE-OES workshop provides an unprecedented opportunity to network with engineers, scientists, maritime legal experts, and local, state, and federal government personnel who all share a common concern and goal in providing advance technologies to protect vital maritime infrastructure and provide for the safety of our ports, harbors, coastal eco-systems and our oceans.

Pamela Hurst, Bob Bannon, IEEE Fellow, and Jim Pollock, NAVSEA NUWC returned as the Conference Chair and Co-Chairs respectively. Unfortunately, legislative duties in Washington, D.C. prevented the Honorable Curt Weldon, U.S. House of Representatives – R-PA 7th District, from participating as a keynote speaker this year. However, Congressman Weldon wrote a letter of introduction for Bob Bannon who was this year’s banquet speaker.

RDML Joe Nimmich, USCG, explaining the Coast Guard role in U.S. asset protection

Sam Roudebush and Shawn James – Maritime Domain Awareness Panel Leaders

Bob stated that Homeland Security has become a global issue not only in the United States, the UK, Italy and The Russian Federation, but has become a major focus in the Ukraine, Turkey, Malaysia and Poland.
The Russian Federation is now participating in international collaboration to fight terrorism:
• Organized by the CIS Antiterrorism Center, the CIS Collective Security Treaty Organization, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation and Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation.
• Urgent Issues of Counteraction to Modern Terrorist Threats
• Criminology and Crime Detection Systems in Prevention and Investigation of Acts of Terrorism
• Video Surveillance Guard Systems in Prevention of Terrorism Threats - Department of Protection of Public Property, Research Center at the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation
• Systems and Means of Communications in War against Terrorism - Directorate of Information Telecommunication Technologies and Communications of the Department of Rear Services and Organizations at the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation.
Hong Kong is set to lose its title as world's busiest container port to Singapore this year and Shanghai and Shenzhen ports are steadily catching up in volume. Hong Kong moved 21.93 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of goods last year, up 7.3 per cent from the year earlier. Singapore, the world's second-busiest port, handled a record 21.3 million TEUs in 2004, up about 16 per cent due to booming regional trade, according to port operators.
Vulnerable submarine cable nodes exist on both sides of the Atlantic. For historical and technical reasons most trans-Atlantic cables terminate in the SW of the UK and NE of the USA. These nodes are vulnerable because the cables are protected only from “normal” seabed activities and because most seabed users diligently avoid cables. However, a particularly “aggressive” trawler could damage most trans-Atlantic cables in a few days or hours. New threats are emerging resulting from terrorist activities.
At the conference another item discussed was the need to fix support systems for our First Responders – FEMA, USCG, and Local Police and Fire Departments. In addition, we need to encourage and pursue development of inter-agency communications devices and provide delivery networks for essential supplies.

Bob Bannon, Jim Pollock, Sen. Lincoln Chafee and Pam Hurst

USCG RDML Joseph Nimmich addressed Maritime Domain Awareness issues and the challenges that the Coast Guard face after 911 in protecting U.S. coastal waters, ports and harbors and critical maritime infrastructure. This was followed by a USCG Panel chaired by Sam Roudebush, Sonalysts, Inc. and Shawn James, VP Integrated Domain Awareness & Security at Lockheed Martin Co.
Jim Pollock, NAVSEA NUWC Director of Homeland Security Programs and Pam Lisiewicz NUWC Associate Director for Planning and Technical Operations chaired a Government Perspective Panel on Homeland Defense Initiatives.
Senator Lincoln Chafee, R-RI, addressed the HSTW05 attendees at lunch on Thursday on the history Rhode Island has played in U.S. naval history and the protection of maritime infrastructure.
The technical program offered two full days, featuring 6 multi-track PowerPoint presentations and papers covering topics below:
• Underwater Telecommunications Protection Issues and International Legislation
• Sensors and Underwater Vehicle Technology for Protecting our Ports, Waterways, and Coastlines
• Preempting and Disrupting Terrorist Threat
• Maritime Domain Awareness
• Biometric and Screening – including Personnel and Containers
• Unmanned Underwater Vehicles (UUVs) for Hull and Pier Inspections
• Explosive Ordnance Acquisition and Disposal
• Technologies for Countering Chemical, Bio-terrorist, Terrorist Attacks on Ocean Industries
• Anti-Swimmer Technologies
• Beyond Homeland Defense and Homeland Security – Over the Horizon
The workshop was successful because it focused creative resources, collective energy and commitment on protecting vital ocean and maritime infrastructure on a global scale.
Acknowledgements: Photographs courtesy of Stan Chamberlain, OES VP- Technical Activities.“Nuclear Car Wash” information - D. Slaughter, M. Accatino, A. Bernstein, et al, p 560, Sensors Journal Aug, 2005.