Axis IP video surveillance solutions protect the operations of the Las Palmas Port Authority.

The Las Palmas Port Authority (Autoridad Portuaria de las Palmas, APLP) is a government office within the State Ports (Ministry of Development), which manages five general-purpose ports in the province of Las Palmas, Canary Islands: La Luz and Las Palmas, Arinaga, and Salinetas (Grand Canary). Arrecife (Lanzarote), and Puerto del Rosario (Fuerteventura).

Thanks to their strategic position in the Middle Atlantic, these ports are noteworthy as an enclave for connections between Europe, Africa, and America. They serve as logistics platforms for international sea routes, a base for national and international fishing fleets, stations for fuel bunkering and container transshipment, leaders in the cruise sector, an international regatta center, and strategic points for the distribution of humanitarian aid under the United Nations World Food Program.

The control and monitoring network covers a total of 144 Axis cameras, allowing the Service Coordination Center of Las Palmas to perform the functions entrusted to it to full satisfaction, such as controlling maritime traffic, managing nautical technical port services for pilotage, towing, and mooring, and the coordination tasks for maritime or land emergencies, among others. These cameras have been installed by Gemed Soluciones, which was also responsible for providing the necessary training to the Port Police, as well as to the staff of the Department of New Technologies and the Las Palmas Port Services Coordination Center.

APLP already had a video camera and video management system for monitoring port operation that includes both analog and digital cameras from various manufacturers, some of which did not meet current administrative needs. To continue improving the quality of the services it provides to the different companies and operators that work in the port areas, with more effective and updated security measures, APLP held a tender for the supply, installation, standardization, optimization, and maintenance of the port’s CCTV tele-production.

These include:
> Automation of processes to the maximum level of process automation, minimizing human error or the lack of operator attention, creating warnings and alarms and capturing their attention in preprogrammed events when these happen.
> Fast and efficient review and search in recorded video or events so they can be exported to external recording media with the minimum possible time of intervention by the operator.
> Notable improvement in image quality, even in adverse lighting situations.
> Increase in the security levels for the entire system by implementing every possible protocol, at both the software and hardware levels, to prevent unauthorized access.
> Implement vandalism detection systems.
> Capture images that are always in focus, under any lighting situation. The system’s installation and maintenance must be guaranteed by the equipment manufacturer.

Every day, the ports of the Canary Islands are buzzing with economic activity. Las Palmas Port is a city unto itself. Surveillance and security is a key element in port management. All port users, including shipping companies, exporters, importers, and passengers, require protection, control, and monitoring 24 hours a day.

The Axis solution is efficient in all types of situations, from vandalism to terrorism, all at a reasonable cost, which is also essential to improving competitiveness against other ports. Axis has met all of APLP’s expectations. The images offer improved resolution and quality, the entire security system is much easier to manage, and, from an economic point of view, maintenance costs are dramatically reduced thanks to equipment upgrades, improvements technology, and a reduced number of suppliers.