WILMINGTON -- Managers of North Carolina's state ports are looking to install surveillance gear along 22 miles of the Cape Fear River leading from near its mouth to the docks in Wilmington.
The State Ports Authority plans to mount as many as 50 cameras along the river to monitor ship traffic, The StarNews of Wilmington reported Thursday.
The $2 million project is being funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to prevent and improve response to attacks from conventional, chemical, biological or nuclear weapons.
"It is to promote the security of the port and the region," ports authority spokeswoman Shannon Moody said.
The project is in its preliminary stages, and it could be years before cameras are working, Moody said.
About half of the cameras will be mounted on existing structures, including bridges, while others will be positioned atop specially built towers, according to an advertisement for designers on a state purchasing website.
The ports authority is looking for a professional security firm to develop a concept for how the camera system would function. The designer must have experience in camera monitoring and surveillance systems as well as port security, according to the documents.
The Port of Wilmington has been awarded 15 port security grants worth more than $11 million since 2007 for projects such as a new command and control center, relocating the south gate, IT security, and security equipment and training, the ports authority said.
