Established in 1919, Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd., also known as "K" Line, is the tenth largest shipping company in the world. Based in Japan, they typically move cargo around the world by ship. One of the places that "K" Line operates out of is the Shinagawa-ku Seaport in Tokyo, Japan. Shinagawa-ku is one of the largest and busiest ports in Japan. Thousands of tons of goods are brought in and out on a daily basis along with hundreds of workers.

The problem

"K" Line needed to know what was going on in the port at all times. They had to monitor cargo handling operations and allied activities. However, ports are typically challenging environments to monitor. Strong winds, heavy rain, windblown salt, and major fluctuations in temperature could make taking accurate images difficult. "K" Line required a surveillance camera that was tough yet precise.

The solution

The MESSOA NIC930HPRO IP Speed Dome camera was selected for this task. The camera supports the H.264 compression standard. H.264 greatly reduces the size of video compared to MJPEG and MPEG4 without compromising image quality. Storage and bandwidth needs are reduced. Plus, H.264 is a wireless friendly format.

Only five cameras were installed on lighting towers yet they covered all 231,000 square metre of the Port. A rugged outdoor wireless power box and transmitter were used to keep wires and installation costs to a minimum. With wireless networks, cameras can be deployed anywhere without the high costs of installing and maintaining wires.

The NIC930HPRO is equipped with a 1/4" Sony Exview HAD CCD lens. 26x optimal zoom with 12x digital zoom add up to a 312x zoomrange ensuring more detail. This lens can capture even the smallest objects and provides excellent picture sensitivity which is vital for any retail environment. It also uses a high-performance zoom with superfine 0.02° pan controls to deliver smooth tracking of moving people and objects. A 360° continuous pan operation range with a maximum speed of 430°/sec. These features give Security an excellent overview of the entire port while at the same time allows them to zoom in without losing detail.

Maritime surveillance at Japanese seaport taken up by MESSOA’s cameras
MESSOA's NIC930HPRO IP Speed Dome cameras are looking after the port's security



MESSOA camera housing is IP66/IP67-rated die-casting aluminium housing also protects the camera from the salt damage and strong rains common in coastal settings. The housing is very tolerant of temperature and humidity changes, functioning well in -40ºC to 60ºC temperatures and 20-80% relative humidity, both of which are common in coastal environments. In addition, the camera comes bundled with 16-channel central management software. With this user friendly CMS, the authorised users can use a simple web browser to tilt the viewing angle and zoom to get a better view of the port.

Why MESSOA

Port authorities can now supervise activities 24/7 using just a web browser. Any problems can be quickly identified and eliminated. Theft and incidents are down. Japan has a large IP Camera market. Despite this, "K" Line decided to go with MESSOA as their surveillance security after hearing about MESSOA's reputation from the Port of Taipei.

Click here to see videos from the Shinagawa-ku seaport.

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