MIAMI RIVERWATCH

May 1, 2005 12:00 PM, BY CORRINA STELLITANO

If you believe the popular television series Miami Vice, Miami in the 80s was glitzy and dangerous — and real life often mirrored television. The hot south Florida city was a destination and stomping ground for TV thieves and more than a few drug smugglers.

In comparison, today's Miami River is less exciting — and more secure. Now the fourth largest port in Florida, the Miami River's port businesses handle commerce in the Caribbean and Central/South America valued at more than $4 billion annually. And, this year, a port known for improving its image took one more step to ensure lawfulness by installing an extensive interconnected video system.

A PATHWAY TO THE WORLD

The Miami River port differs from the nearby Port of Miami-Dade (located on Dodge and Lummus Islands at the mouth of the Miami River) because of its shallow, but long, path into the heart of the bustling city.

The Miami River winds 5.5 miles from Biscayne Bay to the Miami International Airport. Along the way, it passes city and county government buildings, a hospital and a civic center. Because of the volume of international vessels, the Miami River has even been called an international border.

The shipping terminals along the Miami River are privately owned with no government infrastructure. To protect the river, its commerce and its resources, 20 terminals and 50 marine-related businesses along the Miami River have joined forces as the Miami River Marine Group.

According to Dr. Fran Bohnsack, executive director of the Miami River Marine Group, the port's $4 billion in annual commerce is integral to south Florida's economy and beneficial to others as well.

“Vessels from the Miami River call at more than 100 foreign ports, and our marine industry represents a lifeline for every shallow draft port in the region,” she says.

For port leaders, the story of the port encompasses both the past and the present.

“We've also had a history of drug smuggling and piracy that goes way back,” Bohnsack continues. “This was the Wild West — that's our history. The folks I work with have struggled to gain credibility; they are successful credible business people.

“For example, each year, millions of dollars worth of high-fashion apparel from brands like Haggar and Donna Karan enter the United States from Haiti through the Miami River port businesses. We need to continue those trade routes, though there is no question that, for a long time, Haiti was a hot spot of crime.”

The Miami River Marine Group had considered video surveillance for several years, but was unable to generate sufficient funding for the project. In the security-conscious aftermath of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, the group applied for available grants — but expectations were not high.

“The Miami River was eligible, but we have never historically been a recipient of the resources coming down from the state or federal government,” Bohnsack says. “Even though, according to threat assessments, the Miami River is one of the most at-risk because it is least protected.”

“While every terminal is gated and complies with the Maritime Transportation Security Act, I have 20 individual ports, and the security challenges for us are more severe. There are many side streets, avenues and options to access the Miami River. That's been part of our challenge,” she continues.

This time, however, the Transportation Safety Administration had begun looking at vulnerable private areas, understanding that these can become targets as easily as public sites. Eventually, the Miami River Marine Group received two grants to introduce closed circuit television into the area.

The first grant enabled the placement of 11 day/night PTZ cameras with infrared capability along the Miami River, beginning in Biscayne Bay. Video feeds from these cameras are transmitted wirelessly to the command center on the river and then are transmitted to the appropriate local law enforcement agency. In the past, the question of how to purchase a CCTV system was often paralleled by the question of who would monitor the system, or respond in the case of an incident.

“Even if we got the cameras in place we wouldn't be able to hire a force to monitor or respond. So what we wanted to do is create a system and essentially give it to local law enforcement,” Bohnsack says. “They were required to patrol the river 24-7 according to the Transportation Act, so we wanted to give them a resource.”

The Miami River is monitored at different areas by the Florida Department of Fish and Wildlife, the City of Miami Police Department and Marine Patrol, the Miami-Dade County Police Department and Marine Patrol and the City of Hialeah Police Department.

“In the past, when something happened, there was a lot of discussion about whose jurisdiction it was,” Bohnsack says. “The way the system was arranged was very helpful in our relationships with many different jurisdictions. I guess (this process has been) more innovative than I even knew because it has brought all these entities together. This is a dialogue that has never existed, and now we have monthly meetings.”

A leap of faith

Miami-based system integrator ATC International was working with Bohnsack on the initial grant when funding came through for a more extensive CCTV network including the Marine Group's 20 member terminals.

“I probably would have looked for typical cameras, but the ATC folks came up with a design that worked,” Bohnsack says.

The chosen system was a fully integrated GE high-performance day/night color camera surveillance system, including more than 218 cameras, 20 GE Kalatel Triplex DVRs and 40 21-inch GE MVC-21S color monitors. GE KTC-2000DN cameras were chosen for their day/night image capture capabilities. These are mounted into KTE-100 weatherproof housings.

Each of the 20 terminals can monitor the camera footage on the premises or remotely via the Internet. In the case of an emergency or the designation of federal maritime security (MARSEC) Level 3, the camera feeds can be monitored at a central monitoring station by the five local law enforcement agencies.

To allow for this group monitoring function, one continuous system was essential, says Phillip Gravino, director of government systems division, ATC International.

“We wanted to get all the participants involved because, although these would be individually owned, they could be monitored jointly in the event of a crisis or if the MARSEC level increased. It would have been a massive effort to join the systems if everyone used their share of the grant money to purchase separate systems.”

“This is a pretty traditional project absent of tying 20 properties together. Having them all be consistent and compatible was the real task,” he continues.

At first, member companies were skeptical of the grant project, Bohnsack says.

“We invested over a million dollars, (but) it wasn't an easy sell.”

Many members of the marine group were apprehensive about installing an electronic system that could be monitored by outsiders, even if only rarely. Public opinion had sometimes been harsh for members of the Miami River community, Bohnsack says.

“They have been hammered over the years every time something illegal happened,” Bohnsack adds. “In 2001, the Florida drug czar shut down the river and claimed there were no legitimate businesses on the river. It seems like we are constantly proving ourselves. So when I said ‘this could really solve our problems, all you have to do is open your terminal to 24-hour surveillance,’ they responded with skepticism.”

Eventually, skepticism abated and the eight-month-long installation began. The process took slightly longer than usual, says ATC's senior project engineer Ed Heinemann, in part because of unforeseen obstacles such as discovering unknown concrete bulkheads underground. Installing high-tech electronics in working port areas also presented unique issues.

“In some cases, we were fighting the port operators because everyone had their own objectives. They sometimes couldn't interrupt shipping schedules,” he says. “It got a little tense, but it worked out.”

Once the system was in place, however, positive responses were almost immediate.

“Not two days after the cameras were up, there was a robbery in front of a business, and the police contacted ATC to view their footage. The word was out and the system was functioning,” Bohnsack says.

Feedback on Bohnsack's efforts was positive as well. The 13-year veteran of community organizing received a Certificate of Merit from the U.S. Coast Guard for leading the push for the CCTV system. She is also praised on the Miami River Commission Web site: “Dr. Fran Bohnsack of The Miami River Marine Group has done as much as anyone to unite the commission's varied interests in the belief that a vital commercial artery can also become a destination for the public and an asset to the community.”

For Bohnsack, though, the real rewards are a safer river.

“Miami River is virtually the only port of embarkation that can deliver the life-sustaining commodities absolutely required by many of the impoverished and developing countries,” she says. “(For example,) recent hurricane efforts focused on remote port cities in Haiti simply couldn't have been carried out without a working Miami River.”

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