Law Enforcement Information News

For 15 years the Maritime Risk Symposium (MRS), an annual three-day event, has brought together government and maritime industry leaders, port representatives, international and domestic researchers and solution providers to examine current and emerging threats to maritime security. World events highlight that maritime security is increasingly at risk during the current period of great-power competition and ongoing conflicts. The active competition between nations who are not…

In 2014, Forbes Associate Director for Maritime Services at Control Risks stated that maritime risks are on the rise. Mariners and ship owner/operators experienced a 26% spike in maritime piracy and armed robbery since 2014  and the North Sea Oil Industry admitted that it had been targeted and thwarted cyber attacks, attacks that if successful could have caused untold financial and logistical damage. •    Within the last decade, plans to attack a cruise ship in a major U.S. port were revealed. Maritime surveillance systems play a key role monitoring sea lanes and ports while supporting worldwide maritime safety and security. The ability to operate effectively and securely in any environment (air, land or sea) depends on an acute awareness and understanding of the surrounding elements.

The Mariner Group informs that it augmented the security efforts of Maryland's Natural Resources Police and other federal, state and local agencies for Baltimore's recent Star-Spangled Spectacular and Sailabration. Mariner provided CommandBridge situation awareness support to the Incident Command Center at Coast Guard Sector Baltimore. The CommandBridge displays and on-site staff helped maintain safety and security during several high-profile maritime events, including a Parade of Ships into Baltimore Harbor and the Navy's Blue Angels air show performances. "The Maryland Natural Resources Police partnered with CommandBridge to create a command and control system for managing emergencies and significant planned events," said Col. George Johnson, superintendent of the Maryland NRP.

Leading networking company, TESSCO Technologies Incorporated, informs it has worked closely with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to successfully implement, for the first time, real-time video streaming from police boats monitoring Chesapeake Bay. This technology effort supports Governor O’Malley’s extensive programs to protect the Chesapeake. TESSCO explain that after four years of planning and product testing, TESSCO, partnering with the IT staff of the DNR’s Natural Resource Police and RAD Data Communications, based in Mahwah, N.J., delivered a solution using RAD’s Airmux Mobility system to achieve over 4 Mbps throughput per boat while traveling at up to 20 knots over distances of up to seven miles.

Kelvin Hughes, a global supplier of surveillance and navigation systems, announced that it has recently supplied two SharpEye Solid State X Band surveillance radars to the Maryland Natural Resources Police (MPRP), to provide additional coverage around protected oyster beds. The SharpEye  radars are key sensors in the MNRP Maritime Law Enforcement Information Network (MLEIN), whose mission is to secure the 3,100 miles of Maryland coastline. The system was launched in the autumn of 2013, with the first detection of illegal activity taking place shortly after.

The electronic pairing offered safety and security personnel an unprecedented view of a 25+ square mile area of the harbor from north of Ft McHenry, west to the Hanover Street Bridge and southeast past the Francis Scott Key Bridge. With blue force tracking and the ability to correlate the video, AIS and radar tracks, first responders could see every boat in the harbor and knew its bearing and distance from the nearest fire boat or rescue vessel. "ISA is proud to have provided WAVcam's visual situation awareness technology for the Maritime Law Enforcement Information Network during Maryland's Star-Spangled Sailabration. We were honored by the invitation to work with The Mariner Group and add WAVcam's unique wide-area…

Joseph A. Boevink (51) of Panama City, Fla., was sentenced by United States District Judge Thomas S. Zilly in Seattle to two months in custody, followed by up to 60 days in a halfway house, and two years of supervised release, for falsely claiming that he had never been convicted of a criminal offense on an application for Merchant Mariner license submitted to the U.S. Coast Guard in Seattle in January 2001. The U.S. Coast Guard is required under federal law to issue such licenses, called Merchant Mariner Documents, to individuals employed on large merchant vessels. One of the purposes of the license is to ensure that the U.S. Coast Guard knows who has access to, and is traveling on, merchant vessels that operate within United States waters.

Good morning. Thank you, Governor, for that warm introduction. I appreciate your kind words. And I want to thank everyone here today for the commitment you have shown in confronting the complex challenges we face in the war on terror. For those of you who attended this summit last year, you may remember a few technical difficulties with my speech. Failed satellite video, falling DHS seals -- let’s just say I thought I better get here in person this year. And I was glad to make the trip…