Yesterday we posted about the New York Police Department Harbor Unit’s use of ROVs to maintain security in the harbot.  We had missed an amusing post by Portside New York‘s Carolina Salguero on NPYD security training on the MARY A. WHALEN.  From her post:

The NYPD trained officers on how to use the new cameras on the MARY A. WHALEN during May of 2007.

An NYPD boat came along side, and an officer in sunglasses skipped over introductions and said “can we look at your bottom with an underwater camera?” 

I said, “I don’t show my bottom to just any guy… who’s asking?” 

Without the hint of a laugh, Detective Keith Duval handed over a card and said he was with the Counter Terrorism Division. 

“All the big stuff is either busy or moving,” he explained; so the Mary Whalen would be helpful to him to use. He said the cameras cost some $80,000.

PortSide uses the MARY A. WHALEN as an educational resource in diverse ways and for diverse groups. We have given TankerTours to the general public in English and Spanish.  We have helped train college professors in a City Tech program. We have run workshops and lectures (TankerTalks) aboard, and we’ve helped train the NYPD.  We look forward to partnering with maritime training institutions to help offer professional training.

If you think your school, academy, or program could use the MARY A. WHALEN in some educational fashion, please get in touch with us at portsidenewyork(at)gmail.com