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Charleston earns reputation as ‘pinnacle’ for high-tech security
By Shelia Watson
Contributing Writer
Timothy Acker, president of Seattle-based BioSonics Inc., came a long way to present his product at the fourth annual Homeland Security Innovation Conference, but distance was no object since the event focused on the efforts of private business in developing technology for security initiatives.
“There are other conferences that deal with technology and security, but Charleston is the pinnacle,” Acker said.
The conference was presented by ThinkTEC and held for the second year at the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center, or SPAWAR, on the Naval Weapons Station campus in Goose Creek.
Acker’s company has 30 years of experience in underwater acoustics, but after partnering with SPAWAR four years ago, he formed a sister company, Ultimate Sonar Assessment Systems Inc., to research and develop underwater threat detection systems.
He admits to envying the cluster of security-related companies in the area.
‘Concentration of talent’
“This is where things are happening in the security tech industry,” he said of Charleston. “Seattle has a lot of programs going on with technology and security initiatives being developed for Homeland Security, but Charleston is kicking our tail with programs like Seahawk. There’s just such a concentration of talent here.”
Much of that talent was showcased in the three-day conference, which focused on the Security and Accountability for Every Port Act, as well as on the various efforts to keep the nation’s borders safe.
Since the 9/11 terror attacks, the federal government, via the Department of Homeland Security, has sought to protect the nation from intruders, particularly on the borders and at the ports. Among those efforts was Project Seahawk, the intelligence program piloted at Charleston.
Because it is home to one of the largest container ports on the East Coast, Charleston was an ideal testing ground for the advanced security program, an intermodal transportation and port security task force and operations center.The program brings together more than 50 federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the U.S. Coast Guard, the S.C. Law Enforcement Division and the S.C. State Ports Authority. The interagency cooperation helps track suspicious activities and identify potential threats on shipping vessels.
National security experts rate Charleston “one step ahead” because of Seahawk. “Seahawk has been able to reach out to local law enforcement, breaking down those paradigms of not being able to share information,” said Owen Doherty, director of the U.S. Maritime Administration and conference keynote speaker.
Doherty said working together is also a matter of national economic security.
U.S. Coast Guard Captain Michael McAllister echoed Doherty’s assessment.
“A disruption in the commerce coming into our ports has a ripple effect throughout the nation,” he said. “It could cause significant economic damage.”
Security training
Charleston also has been the location of other security initiatives.
In 2006, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection temporarily moved a portion of its border patrol training from the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Artesia, N.M., to Charleston.
In 2007, the Charleston center trained thousands of new border patrol agents from across the country, certifying them to teach border patrol agent trainees at the Artesia facility. The program aims to hire 6,000 new border patrol agents by the end of 2008.
Also in 2006, Charleston piloted or provided training for several U.S. Customs and Border Protection initiatives, including the Container Security Initiative to protect the global trading system and trade lanes.
Under that program, border protection officers are deployed in foreign countries to target containers that pose a potential threat. As of December 2007, the program operated in 50 foreign ports.
The program includes several high-tech elements, including computerized intelligence, prescreening of containers at the port of departure, gamma- and X-ray machines for inspection of containers and the use of “smart” containers that are resistant to tampering.
Charleston’s role in piloting the program derives from its status as one of the busiest container ports in the country and the existing security initiatives. The SPA reported that in fiscal year 2007, the Port of Charleston handled 1.88 million TEUs, or 20-foot equivalent units.
Pam Zaresk, Charleston’s port director for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, said the importance of such security systems cannot be overstated.
“For international trade, these numbers represent prosperity. For terrorists, they represent opportunities for destructive action,” she said.
Shelia Watson is a contributing writer for the Business Journal.
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