Contribution by Thomas Tomaiko, Program Manager, Borders and Maritime Division, Science and Technology Directorate, U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Small vessels operate in the sea in large numbers. The overwhelming majority of small vessels operating in and around the United States coasts and in our ports and inland waterways are engaged in legitimate activities. However, a small number are platforms for illegal or illicit activities, such as human and drug trafficking, and may be used for waterborne attacks on our maritime infrastructure.
Most small vessel operators expect largely unrestricted access to the nation’s waterways. Compound this with the fact that small vessels are not required to carry Automatic Identification Systems (AISs) or provide any clear identification of their purpose or intent, and you realize that maritime law enforcement agencies face a major challenge. At any given time, law enforcement agencies can only positively identify a small fraction of a percent of all small vessels operating along our coasts and within our ports and waterways. The remaining “unknown” vessels, referred to as “small dark vessels,” require detection and monitoring to ensure the safety of the nation’s ports and waterways.
Federal agencies, and a growing number of state and local law enforcement agencies, are expressing a need for better ways to detect, monitor, and sort these small dark vessels in an effective and timely way. In response, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) developed the Coastal Surveillance System (CSS)— a comprehensive maritime domain awareness system. Drawing on existing open source data, the DHS S&T CSS analyzes vast amounts of maritime data and produces a concise, dynamic, large-scale view of a defined maritime environment. Over the next several years, DHS S&T plans to incrementally enhance and expand the CSS. Operational end users will be able to use the CSS to locate, track, and prosecute small vessels in real time with up-to-date geospatial intelligence.
The DHS S&T CSS is comprised of several components, including a scalable sensor integration platform called SIMON (Smart Integration Manager Ontologically Networked) and the Open Mongoose System (OMS). OMS is a vessel tracking system comprised of a data aggregator, track fusion engine, web portal, and track database. Originally developed by the Department of Defense as a classified system for use by select Federal agencies, DHS reconstituted OMS for general use by removing sensitive data. Instead, the system relies on open source data, such as crew manifests, passenger lists, and sailing schedules. End users will be able to use OMS to track large and small vessels, including non-emitting or dark vessels, operating in our ports and harbors, along our coasts, and in coastal approaches.
In addition to OMS and SIMON, the CSS is incrementally developing new collection capabilities focused on small dark vessels. One such capability is called Coalition Tactical Awareness and Response (CTAR), which provides rapid access to task and receive ad-hoc wide-area space-based Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) and Electro Optical (EO) geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) data. This data can be used to create ship detection reports and predict a vessel’s threat potential.
In December 2012, the DHS S&T CSS was deployed to the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Air and Marine Operations Center (AMOC) in Riverside, Calif., the United States Coast Guard Los Angeles Sector, and the S&T Maritime Security Technology Pilot in Saint Petersburg, Fla. The CSS will undergo development and operational evaluations over the next three years leading to full CSS capabilities in real-world mission environments. Based on feedback from operational end users and outcomes from tests, S&T will update and enhance the CSS and its associated tools to create an effective and suitable final product DHS maritime operating components and their partners can use to identify small vessel threats in or near US waters. S&T plans to begin “releasing” the CSS to interagency, domestic, and international partners in FY 2014.
The CSS represents a major leap forward in maritime security. The System will have the potential for high impact and significant change in how DHS components and coastal law enforcement agencies operate. By taking advantage of existing systems and data sources, the CSS will deliver surveillance capabilities that support both small and large vessel tracking, interagency operational planning, and operations monitoring. The CSS will ultimately provide unique tactical and strategic operational tools that improve port and coastal surveillance and mitigate maritime security threats across DHS maritime components.
Point of Contact: Thomas Tomaiko, Program Manager, Borders and Maritime Division, Science and Technology Directorate, U.S. Department of Homeland Security
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) Coastal Surveillance System (CSS) will be discussed in depth in a series of panels at the Maritime Security 2013 East in St. Pete FL on April 16th. On April 15th, DHS S&T and SRI will host four small group demonstrations of the CSS. Only registered attendees of the Program will be allowed to participate. Please visit www.maritimesecurity2013.com/east for more information.
