Windsor Port Authority Strengthens U.S.-Canada Border Waterway Safety and Security

Windsor Port Authority, one of just 17 national ports created by the 1999 Canada Marine Act, has enhanced waterway safety and security across its jurisdiction on the U.S.-Canada border with state-of-the-art cameras from Axis Communications. These cameras, combined with radar solutions from Accipiter Radar Technologies Inc., provide the port with the visibility needed to prevent collisions, better detect illegal activity, and save lives along the river.

Located on the Detroit River, the Windsor Port serves as the passageway between Lake Huron and Lake Erie, navigating between 6,000 and 9,000 cargo vessels annually. In addition to commercial ships, over 10,000 small fishing boats and other recreational watercraft make their way through the port each year. With so many vessels passing through, Windsor Port Authority realized that it needed better visibility into happenings along the river to be able to keep the waterway running safely and smoothly.

“Axis’ cameras, along with Accipiter’s radar technology, have been vital to keeping the port safe for all who pass through it,” said Peter Berry, Harbor Master and Vice President of Operations for Windsor Port Authority. “Without detailed knowledge of the traffic in these waters, the risk of severe accidents increases significantly, so having the ability to both detect and visually confirm incidents in real-time is invaluable. We’ve already been able to do some amazing things with the enhanced surveillance solution, like quickly rescuing drowning victims and helping to catch human smugglers, and we’re eager to see what the future holds as a result of this upgrade.”

While radar coverage from Accipiter has monitored river activity for years—offering wide-area, real-time detection and tracking to identify commercial vessels, small craft such as, jet skiers, and even debris in the water—it lacked the visual detail needed to provide effective, remote observation. By integrating Axis’ bispectral cameras into Accipiter’s platform, the port now has a 360-degree surveillance system with both thermal detection and visual verification. With this enhanced system, the port can: 

• Broadcast real-time warnings about obstructions in the channel: In one instance, the U.S. Coast Guard notified the port that they’d spotted a boat stopped in the middle of the river. The vessel had caught fire, dropped anchor, and was dead in the water. The thermal camera and radar technology allowed for continuous monitoring of the fire onboard the ship—helping them to determine that it was contained to the engine room—while enabling the port to send out a navigational warning to other vessels on the river. While the darkness of the hour prevented them from seeing anything from shore, the technology also provided thermal visuals to monitor activity on the bridge and deck. Everyone was safely evacuated.
• Safely navigate craft through high-risk construction projects: During construction of a new bridge, the port was concerned about potential disruptions to river traffic, but Axis cameras and integrated radars allowed them to effectively manage vessels passing underneath the site.
• Deliver precise coordinates for faster rescue operations: When the port got a call from the U.S. Coast Guard that they had spotted a person treading water by the Ambassador Bridge, they were able to quickly identify the location of the person using a combination of radar and camera technology and execute a life-saving rescue.
• Help to identify criminal activity: While using the camera-radar technology to view objects crossing from Canada to the U.S., the port identified suspicious activity from a boat that regularly sailed from Windsor to Detroit. The port turned the data and video over to the Canadian and U.S. authorities to investigate, which ultimately led to the arrest of two individuals running a human smuggling operation.

“At Axis, we take pride in working with organizations like Windsor Port Authority to contribute to improved marine domain awareness and heightened safety along the border,” said Anthony Incorvati, Transportation Segment Development Manager for the Americas at Axis. “Combining advanced camera and radar technology ensures comprehensive visibility in maritime environments, providing essential detection and visual verification to resolve incidents quickly and effectively. Not only that, but powerful business intelligence capabilities contribute to improved operations across the organization.”

Looking ahead, the port plans to enhance its capabilities with drone awareness. By leveraging the Accipiter platform’s specially designed three-dimensional slew-to-cue software, Axis cameras will seamlessly transition from monitoring the river to tracking aerial targets using radar technology.