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Volpe Center Highlights - November/December 2002

Homeland Security

Director's Notes | Focus | Safety | Mobility and Economic Growth
Human and Natural Environment | Organizational Excellence | Homeland Security
Awards | Papers and Presentations

Helping to Secure Ports Worldwide (CTTSO/TSWG)

USS JFK approaches the pier at Naval Station Norfolk, the first U.S. facility to incorporate VIPS into harbor protection. VIPS is scheduled for overseas deployment in late 2002. (Photo courtesy of U.S. Navy)

In August 2002, the aircraft carrier USS JFK returned from Operation Enduring Freedom in the Middle East. Its journey home included a stop at Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia, to disembark air wing personnel. A new vessel-tracking system developed by the Volpe Center helped ensure that the JFK was well protected in the Naval Station harbor.

Volpe is developing the Vessel Identification and Positioning System (VIPS) for the Technical Support Working Group of the Department of Defense's (DoD) Combating Terrorism Technology Support Office. VIPS tracks vessels in harbors and ports to protect U.S.-flagged ships. The state-of-the-art system is one of several actions taken by the DoD in response to the terrorist attack on the USS Cole in October 2000.

VIPS employs Differential Global Positioning System technology in specially designed transponders. Security operations and force protection units can track all VIPS-equipped vessels in real time on a geographic display. Before any local service vessel can approach a U.S.-flagged vessel, it is boarded and inspected by an explosive-detection team. If that inspection is satisfactory, a VIPS transponder is installed on that vessel so it too can be monitored. The Office of the Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet uses VIPS to improve the effectiveness of Navy Protection Forces operations.

Naval Station Norfolk is the first U.S. facility to incorporate VIPS in harbor protection procedures. VIPS was first demonstrated at the Naval Station on August 1, 2002, with the arrival of the USS JFK. In attendance at the demonstration were Rear Admiral David Architzel, the Commander of the Navy Mid-Atlantic Region; representatives of the Naval Operations Antiterrorism/Force Protection Division; and representatives of the U.S. Coast Guard Atlantic Area Command. Prior to the demonstration, the Volpe VIPS team conducted a progress review of the system. The Volpe team consists of project lead Mr. Henry Wychorski and Messrs. David Phinney, Daniel Nim, McCharles Craven, and Thomas Cantwell, all of the Center for Navigation, and Mr. John Wojtowicz of the Infrastructure Protection and Operations Division. VIPS is scheduled for overseas deployment in the coming months.

Supporting Strategic Arms Reduction (DTRA)

Russian crews remove track at the entrance to a Ministry of Defense Facility near the City of Bryansk, Russia. A Volpe team examined rail construction and inspected missile launch cars destined for elimination at this facility. (Photo courtesy of Mr. Ross Gill)

The Volpe Center provides railroad technical expertise to the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) in its mission under the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaties I and II, which require the transfer, storage, and elimination of nuclear weapons throughout the former Soviet Union. Volpe supports the transport of warheads, missiles, fuel, and chemicals via special railcars to various sites in Russia.

Throughout 2002, the Volpe team of Mr. Ross Gill of the Railroad Systems Division and Mr. Jack Krumm of the Intermodal Logistics Systems Planning and Integration Division traveled to Bryansk, Russia, as part of this effort. Mr. Gill and Mr. Krumm recently inspected and approved engineering work at a railcar elimination facility in Bryansk, assisting the DTRA team with setup and on-site inspection of newly constructed Russian facilities to break down railcar launch systems that formerly supported missiles. The final acceptance was conducted in mid-September.

From August 24 to 28, 2002, Mr. Gill joined a DTRA team in Zlatoust, Russia, to evaluate and inspect the final section of 6 kilometers of refurbished track. With the final acceptance of the track, 40 SS-N20 missiles will be transported for elimination beginning this fall. The rate of elimination is 10 missiles per year under Russian environmental laws. Volpe Center support of this program is expected to continue through 2009.

Volpe Supports Deployment of Watercraft Program Subsystems (U.S. Army)

The U.S. Army's Force Projection strategy requires rapid movement of cargo from ship to shore. Cargo movement is especially challenging where ports are unavailable or inadequate. The Volpe Center provides engineering and programmatic services to the Modular Causeway Systems (MCS) Program. The MCS is composed of a series of standardized components that join together in various configurations to build floating piers, floating offshore platforms for discharging cargo from a ship, and powered ferries for transporting vehicles and containers ashore.

The Roll-on/Roll-off Discharge Facility is a floating platform that provides a roadway between a ship's ramp and a powered ferry. (Photo courtesy of Mr. Michael Buonopane)

On August 26, 2002, two MCS subsystems were officially released for unrestricted use: the Roll-on/Roll-off Discharge Facility and the Floating Causeway. Both subsystems had been under development for 12 years. "Material release" is a process used by the Army to ensure that all equipment soldiers will use has been determined to be safe, maintainable, and supportable. In support of the material release process, the Volpe team performed tests and participated in operational demonstrations of all four MCS subsystems: Roll-on/Roll-off Discharge Facility, Floating Causeway, Warping Tug, and Causeway Ferry. The latter two subsystems are scheduled for material release in 2003. The Volpe team also developed training programs and logistics support data, and will participate in the deployment of all four MCS subsystems to the U.S. Army's 7th Transportation Group in Fort Eustis, Virginia.

The Volpe team consists of Mr. Christopher Murray, Ms. Julia Devine, Mr. Bob Pray, and team leader Mr. Michael Buonopane, all of the Technology Applications and Deployment Division. This effort is sponsored by the U.S. Army's Program Executive Office, Combat Service and Combat Service Support, Program Manager - Force Projection, Army Watercraft Systems Office.

Volpe Team Evaluates Cargo Tracking Project (U.S. Customs Service)

Offloading containers at Vancouver container terminal. The Volpe Center is supporting U.S. Customs in its efforts to make global shipping more secure. (Photo courtesy of Mr. Charles McCarthy)

In response to widespread concern that cargo containers could be exploited to smuggle terrorists and/or weapons, the U.S. Customs Service is taking a proactive role in making the maritime trade environment more secure while maintaining efficiency. U.S. Customs is working with ports that send high volumes of container traffic into the United States, as well as the governments in these locations. For example, U.S. Customs and the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency have assigned inspectors to key ports in each other's countries to inspect and clear containers prior to their crossing the U.S.--Canada border.

In a U.S. Customs pilot program at Vancouver, British Columbia, a U.S.--Canada customs team determines which U.S.-bound containers are high risk, inspects the chosen containers, and affixes electronic seals to those containers. Electronic seals transmit information stored in the seal by short-range radio to a receiver. If the seal has not been opened or tampered with, U.S. Customs can allow it to enter the United States without a second inspection at the border. Although mechanical seals can also serve that purpose, electronic seals can be used to automate and streamline the process to keep traffic and commerce flowing at the border.

The Volpe Center team, consisting of Mr. Kenneth Troup and Ms. Nancy Cooney of the Intermodal Logistics Systems Planning and Integration Division and Mr. Charles McCarthy of the Infrastructure Protection and Operations Division, evaluated the electronic seals pilot project. On September 18, 2002, the team submitted a report to the Applied Technology Division at the U.S Customs Service in Washington, D.C., making recommendations to improve the existing Vancouver-to-United States pilot, to expand the project to the ports of Montreal and Halifax, and to develop the longer term capability to integrate electronic seals data into U.S. Customs information management systems.

In the pilot program, the data transmitted by the electronic seals was limited to seal number and tamper indication. In an expanded program, more data could be transmitted and the receiver could be permanently mounted at the border crossing, allowing the seal data to be automatically read and retransmitted by computer to a database or monitoring station. The system could automatically alert a U.S. Customs inspector of tampering, eliminating the need to physically examine each seal. Targeting and inspecting certain containers before they reach the U.S. border can help improve security while facilitating commerce.

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