Cattewater Harbour in Plymouth is harnessing the power and performance of 360 Vision Technology’s Invictus cameras, to protect and secure operations across the challenging and changing conditions at the harbour’s extensive shoreline.
The UK manufacturer of ruggedised HD, radar and thermal PTZ imaging cameras, was selected to provide their industry leading camera technology after a comprehensive on-site evaluation.
Located on the south coast of Devon, Plymouth is the largest city on the southwest peninsula and the port is also home to the largest naval base in Western Europe. As well as civilian pleasure traffic from paddleboards to yachts, the Port of Plymouth handles a variety of cargo vessels through its commercial terminals at Cattedown Wharves, Victoria Wharf and Corporation Wharf. Freight includes liquid and dry bulk, as well as specialist project consignments for construction and heavy industry.
Safe operation
The Cattewater Harbour Commissioners are responsible for the smooth and safe running of the port. They are required to maintain and order safe navigation for all manner of craft, maintain and survey dredging channels, maintain navigation marks and lights, provide pilotage services and traffic regulation within the Cattewater Harbour and remainder of the civil port.
At the port, nationally agreed standards for the safety of marine operations are required to be applied with a commitment to both local and international security measures, with the port’s own pilots boarding and guiding vessels with a 24/7 essential safety service – ensuring that all vessels over 50m complete their passage safely. The harbour covers an expansive coastline, with limits to the east of a line joining Mountbatten Breakwater to Fishers Nose, bounded by Sutton Lock Gates to the North, and Laira Bridge to the East.
The Harbour Master’s role is to ensure the safety of navigation for all harbour users – whether military warships, cross-channel ferries, UAVs, underwater research vessels, small fishing boats, fuel tankers, large cargo ships, jet skis, or paddle boarders – and to take preventative measures to avoid incidents.
“We are responsible for the safety of vessels, people and operations,” says Capt. Richard Allan, CEO & Harbour Master, PFSO (Port Facility Security Officer), Cattewater Harbour Commissioners. “We need to know what’s happening in the port at all times”.
Effective surveillance coverage
To achieve this, a camera system covering the port was deemed invaluable, with requirements for total coverage of the water and shoreline, combined with economy, performance and longevity of the camera equipment in the harsh seaport environment.
To bring the project to fruition, Outersight (UK), a ‘hands-on’ consultancy dedicated to delivering innovative technical solutions were brought on board.
Working with the Cattewater Harbour Commissioners and 360 Vision on previous projects for over ten years, and with experience working with universities, government departments, broadcasters, nature conservation bodies, natural heritage visitor centres, as well as port authorities – Cattewater Harbour Commissioners knew that Outersight (UK) were the people with the experience required for the project.
“We have worked with 360 Vision on many projects and have relied on the manufacturer’s surveillance camera experience and technological expertise before,” says Peter Barlow, Managing Director of Outersight (UK). “It was no different with this project. Right from the start, the team at 360 Vision helped us to demonstrate the advantages of using a network of their Invictus cameras at the port – primarily with an on-site demonstration to the port management team – so they could get real ‘eyes-on’ experience of the Invictus camera within the environment in which it would be used.”
The Outersight (UK) team installed a network of 360 Vision Invictus cameras around the port to cover the water and shoreline, including cameras high on the marker light poles that signal the entrance to the port.
“The camera locations were selected based on the most economical way to cover the area required,” continues Peter. “The flexibility of mounting options and visual performance of the Invictus cameras really paid dividends, allowing us to provide the port with the coverage they required, allied to the most economical cost.
“The fact that we have access to the navigation light towers which by default have a great view of the water, allied with the brilliant zoom function of the Invictus cameras means we do not need many cameras to cover a really large area. By specifying really great cameras and optimising each camera position, we have managed to cover an extensive area with only a small amount of equipment – giving us great return on investment and the lowest possible running costs.”
The 360 Vision cameras cover the entire harbour area, including Cattewater Berths, Barbican Landing Stage, marina areas, slipways and the vast shoreline. They are located on navigation lights dotted around the estuary and on top of the harbour master’s building, with all having good open aspects to the water for maximum surveillance coverage.
Additionally, The Cattewater Harbour Master provides the Kings Harbour Master with access to the cameras to oversee operations in the MoD dockyard and Plymouth Sound.
360 Vision Invictus cameras feature 32x zoom and a 5-year guaranteed marine-grade paint – an essential attribute for use within the harbour’s corrosive saline environment. Additionally, several Invictus cameras with PoE option were used – greatly simplifying installation at the more remote reaches of the system.
Optical clarity
“The 32x zoom capability and stable image quality of the Invictus camera provides wide area coverage and excellent zoomed-in image results,” explains Peter. “This is especially advantageous to identify small vessels at distance – an essential requirement at the port.”
“The Invictus camera has everything we need and at a very competitive price,” adds Richard. “It’s especially reliable in the harsh coastal environment, where we deal with a combination of sea salt, saline air and hot summer sun.”
With essential marine environment features, such as viewing window wiper and low light capability, the network of Invictus cameras is capable of alerting the harbour management team to any operational, security or safety situation, allowing them to take action and suppress the situation before it escalates.
The surveillance system is recorded 24/7 and video footage can be accessed by the Harbour Master in the control room and by mobile login by authorised duty personnel on site, via seamless integration with the Blue Iris VMS.
Optical clarity and zoom capability of the camera network ensures instant visual confirmation, no matter what size of vessel or incident, with members of the harbour management team afforded remote access to the camera network via their phones for instant confirmation of incidents while on the ground or out on the water.
The low power operation of the Invictus cameras also means lower running costs for the port, as certified by the camera’s Elexon charge code compliance for Unmetered Supply (UMS) outdoor powered devices, where electricity consumption is billed at just 30W per camera deployed
Organisations operating CCTV systems can achieve power consumption savings of an incredible 70%. This is a significantly lower power draw versus peer PTZ cameras with generic Charge Codes which are typically billed at 100W, and helps to lower daily running costs at the port.
Using 360 Vision’s Invictus cameras as its backbone, Cattewater Harbour Commissioners now have an electronic surveillance system that is reliable, future-proof, rugged, economical and delivers the high performance required to meet the demanding daily operations of the busy seaport.
“Making things safe and secure for everyone using the port is greatly aided by the surveillance camera system,” says Richard. “The port keeps watch on a wide variety of vessels, including those carrying oil, gas, cattle feed and aggregate, to military warships, cross-channel ferries and underwater research vessels. We also see paddle boarders and jet ski enthusiasts out on the waters too. Evidential footage from the system provides us with the power to convict irresponsible users, such as jet ski riders speeding, or illegal bass fishing brought in on small boats at night.
“Since the inception of the new CCTV system, we have been able to solve a vast variety of incidents from the control room – keeping the public safe, ensuring shipping adheres to the rules of the port and preventing crime.”
