Port Operations and Management Systems
Port of Long Beach – “Virtual Port”
The Port of Long Beach contracted for design of a domain awareness tool to provide a comprehensive real-time picture of port operations. A static background base of maps, grids and installations supports an information display from over 50 data sources to give a layered picture of traffic, ship movements and events throughout the port complex. Shipping data is drawn from the Marine Exchange, and trucking data from TWIC and the Clean Truck Program; open sources are used for traffic and weather. Virtual Port reduces or eliminates the human element in continually loading these updates.
This Virtual Port system addresses operational needs, security and infrastructure status. The fully operational system is used by more than 14 regional stakeholders and 244 individual users who receive over 300 updates to the system daily. Control Center operators can direct maintenance crews and security staff to critical locations as needed, or use the information for business continuity or evacuation.
The project cost, including design, development, testing, implementation and training, was approximately $8.5 million. Besides port revenue, funding came from federal Port Security Grant Program and Urban Area Security Initiative grants.
