Port Authority provides funding for port sensor system

Port Authority provides funding for port sensor system The Port Authority of New Jersey and New York will provide funding for a system of sensors that mariners rely on to move ships in an out of the harbor for another year, but are hopeful the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will permanently fund the program.
   Port authority commissioners Thursday authorized an agreement with NOAA on behalf of the two states to provide $195,000 for continued operation and maintenance of the Physical Oceanographic Real-Time System.
   PORTS collects data such as tide heights, current speeds, wind speed, and the distance between the Bayonne Bridge and the water beneath it from sensors around the harbor.
   Richard Larrabee, port commerce director, said the data is important because it provides pilots and other mariners with more accurate, up-to-date data, so that they can bring more fully laden ships in and out of terminals. That allows ships to keep on schedule and for the port to get better utilization of its terminals.
   Larrabee said $3 million has been included in the federal budget for the PORTS system in New York and other harbors around the country for 2008, and he is hopeful that spending will be signed into law and made permanent.
   For more information on the PORTS program see this related article: www.compairdata.com/compairdatanews/070406_002.asp .