Portwatch brings security to Seward

Published on July 30th, 2010

By CINTHIA RITCHIE

Say you're walking along the harbor and you see something suspicious, maybe a man taking photographs of a locked building or someone hovering around a vacant boat. You think about calling in a warning but then you hesitate — you're not sure who to contact, or even if your concerns are legitimate.

Hesitate no more, because now there is Portwatch. The new program combines efforts of the Seward Harbormaster, the Seward Police Department and the Alaska Railroad Corp. to keep port areas safe.

The program is a modeled after ARRC's Track Watch, launched in 2005 as a type of neighborhood watch agenda to help keep watch around rail tracks.

Suspicious activities include anything out of the ordinary, such as asking when security guards come on shift instead of more typical questions regarding boat makes and models.

ARRC chief special agent Dan Frerich explained it as any incident that makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up.

"We want you to not just shrug your shoulders and think, 'that was odd.' We want you to call the (Portwatch) phone number and say, 'Hey, I'm down here on the dock and this seems suspicious to me,'" he said.

While the threat of international terrorism in Seward is low, it isn't nonexistent. Cruise ship ports in general are regarded as prime terrorist sites, especially since the 1985 hijacking of the cruise liner MS Achille Lauro.

"We have every responsibility to provide the appropriate level of security, and obviously we have great security on the inside of the building," Frerich said. "And now we're trying to push that bubble of security a little farther out into the parking lot and streets."

Boat owners and residents living near the harbor area have been mailed letters outlining the program, along with refrigerator magnets outlining how to report suspicious activity. There are also signs posted around the harbor, along with rack cards.

The listed Portwatch phone number is that of the Seward Police Department. While there was some concern at the July 12 Seward City Council meeting that the program may overburden the police department's resources, Frerich doesn't believe that that's likely, based on activity from the Track Watch program.

"It's not like you get 100 calls a day," he said. "If we get one a week we consider it a success."

The program was relatively inexpensive to initiate, with very little associated cost beyond the signs, refrigerator magnets and cost of postage for informational letters.

"I think we spent about $6,000 in what we hope is a self-sustaining program," Frerich said.

Signs are anticipated to last approximately five years.

A similar program kicks off in Whittier later this month.

What to watch for:

The new Portwatch program is designed to cut down on suspicious and criminal activity around the harbor and rail areas. Residents who observe incidents that don't look right are urged to call the Seward Police Department at 224-3338.

According to Alaska Railroad chief special agent Dan Frerich, the following are scenarios that could be signs of suspicious activity:

• Unattended vessels or vehicles in unusual locations

• Unusual night operations

• Recovering or tossing items into/onto the waterway or shoreline

• Operating in or passing through an area that does not typically have such activity

• Fishing or hunting in locations not typically used for those activities

• Missing fencing or lighting near sensitive locations

• Anchoring in an area not typically used for anchorage

• Transfer of people or items between ships, or between ship and shore, outside of port

• Open discharge of hazardous waste into water

• Improperly stored hazardous materials

• Intentional damage or vandalism to a boat or facility

• People attempting to buy or rent fishing or recreational vessels with cash for short-term, undefined use

• Thefts or other criminal activity

• An oil sheen on the water