Kongsberg Defence and Aerospace AS (KDA) is pleased to announce the award of a contract between its fully-owned US subsidiary, Kongsberg Defence Corporation (located in Johnstown, Pennsylvania), and the Port of Long Beach (POLB) for delivery of the C-Scope underwater surveillance system (USS). The contract was unanimously approved by the POLB’s Board of Harbor Commissioners on 15 June 2009.
The C-Scope USS project will provide unprecedented underwater surveillance and protection for the Port of Long Beach’s main waterways and prime marine terminal facilities, combining and integrating a number of DDS9000 diver detection sonar heads from another subsidiary, Kongsberg Mesotech (located in Vancouver, BC, Canada), into an integrated surveillance system, and providing the POLB with a highly advanced and automated system for underwater surveillance of all covered areas of interest.
“This contract is the first of its kind by KDA for commercial ports, and is the result of long and strategic efforts by KONGSBERG in pursuing the surveillance market in the US,” said KDA executive vice president Nils-Oddvar Hagen.
“We are very pleased and proud to be the first US port to actively pursue a sophisticated underwater surveillance system to enhance our maritime domain awareness capabilities and improve our port security protocols,” said Cosmo Perrone, director of port security for the Port of Long Beach.
“KONGSBERG’s underwater surveillance system, coupled with their C-Scope multi-sensor integration platform (MSI), will give us state-of-the-art detection and response capabilities for small craft, swimmers and divers that may invade our waters with hostile intent, thereby making our harbour safer and more secure for the future.”
KONGSBERG is a global leader in providing various surveillance systems worldwide, and is already well represented at Los Angeles/Long Beach Harbor, having provided all the cutting-edge equipment and systems for the vessel traffic system (VTS) at the Marine Exchange’s Vessel Traffic and Information Center in San Pedro, since late 1993.
Kongsberg Norcontol IT (KNC) equipment and systems are today the main source for all radar, AIS and other important maritime domain awareness (MDA) data feeds at the US’s biggest and busiest container port complex, with vital and important vessel movement and ship location data going to the US Coast Guard Sector Command for LA/LB Harbor, as well as the two port authorities, the two harbour pilot stations and other important agencies.