Cape Cod, Mass., does not seem to be much of a terrorist target, but a lot of maritime traffic large and small goes through its waters. That’s the reasoning behind a $445,965 grant from the federal Department of Homeland Security that enabled the Barnstable County Sheriff’s Office to contract SAFE Boats International LLC, Bremerton, Wash., for a boat with capability to detect and respond to radiological and nuclear threats.
The 31’x10’x22” boat, scheduled for delivery in the first quarter of 2016, will carry SAFE’s suite of chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosives detection equipment (CBRNE). The DHS Port Security Grant Program awarded the grant to the Cape Cod sheriff’s office because federal officials are concerned about “the current lack of radiological detection capability in a maritime environment,” Sheriff James M. Cummings said.
The grant comes out of a “Small Vessel Security Strategy” at DHS that calls for local law enforcement to work with agencies like the Coast Guard and local maritime communities “to develop intelligence networks of partners, boaters and facility operators” who can spot suspicious activity and pass the information on, Cummings said.
News that the small sheriff’s agency would get a relatively pricey asset raised some eyebrows in law enforcement circles. But Cummings said there is currently no law enforcement vessel between the ports of Boston and Providence, R.I., with the capability of detecting radiological or nuclear payloads concealed in shipping containers or on smaller vessels, bound for the cities.
Moreover, there is one potential target nearby, Cummings said: the aging Pilgrim nuclear power plant across the bay in Plymouth, Mass.
“With over 400 miles of shore line and the Cape’s many harbors and inlets, as well as our large boating community and numerous ferry services, a vessel of this type is long overdue,” Cummings said.
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