Project - NYPD Harbor Unit SCUBA Team

The NYPD Harbor Unit SCUBA Team is responsible for protecting one of the world’s most populated, most visited, and most targeted islands - New York City. Since 9/11, port security has become an even more critical concern, especially in cities as globally connected as NYC. Today, counterterrorism duties account for about 50 percent of the NYPD Harbor Unit’s work. Whether conducting routine hull sweeps, checking suspicious vessels for criminal activity, locating and recovering evidence, rescuing distressed boaters, or monitoring underwater infrastructure, the NYPD Harbor Unit represents a crucial part of the city’s law enforcement efforts.

Every year, tens of thousands of vessels pour into New York City’s ports. Every incoming ship, whether a small tugboat or a larger cargo ship, must undergo a hull inspection before docking in the port. The Harbor Unit deploys their VideoRay Pro 4 ROV to check vessels for undeclared packages, illicit substances, explosives, invasive species, and even stowaway passengers.

The NYPD Harbor Unit purchased the first VideoRay systems in their ROV fleet back in 2007 using federal grant money from the Urban Area Security Initiative. After a year, they upgraded and expanded their fleet to include additional, more sophisticated ROV systems using federal port security grant money. Since then, the Harbor Unit has continued to upgrade their technology, ensuring that the Big Apple is protected by the absolute best technology available.