Port Windsor to track drones over Detroit River with new border security tech

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Windsor Harbour Master Peter Berry knows the “unsettling” feeling of being followed by a strange drone.

He’s had tiny flying machines tail him while patrolling the port along the Detroit River. But soon, the Windsor Port Authority will have surveillance technology capable of tracking fast-moving objects in the sky.

“I deal in the world of espionage and spies,” Berry told the Star this week.

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“We have a fuel facility. We have a power plant. We have pipelines that have elements of critical infrastructure. Yes, we see it every day, but we don’t get up close to it. A drone can come in and get some very specific technological information.”

In the next month or so, the port authority’s high-tech surveillance system will receive an upgrade with enhanced “slew-to-cue,” a technique that uses radar to direct cameras at moving objects. Port Windsor’s three cameras currently record continuous video, Berry said, “but it’s not always looking at the right place.” The upgrade will automatically point cameras at and track anything moving in the water or the air.

Berry said the upgrades were in the works before President Donald Trump threatened a 25 per cent tariff on Canadian goods over concerns about drugs and “illegal aliens” entering the United States. The threat, which Trump reiterated on Monday night when he said he planned to impose tariffs on Canadian and Mexican products by Feb. 1, prompted Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to announce a $1.3-billion investment in advanced surveillance technology and border management.

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In light of Trump’s comments, municipalities across Canada have begun asking questions about Windsor’s border surveillance systems, Berry said.

“We now have greater interest across Ontario and Quebec in this technology and how we’re using it here, how it could be transferred to other areas,” he said. “How can it be useful in Lake Ontario or along the St. Lawrence Seaway and the U.S. border there? This type of tracking and slew-to-sue systems have become of greater interest — I’ve had a lot of calls.”

Port Windsor’s camera and radar systems are not new. The organization had one state-of-the-art camera from the company Axis Communications installed around 2012, followed by a second camera in 2016 and a third in 2023, Berry said.

The cameras, combined with radar technology from Accipiter Radar Technologies Inc., give Port Windsor a 360-degree surveillance system with thermal and visual capabilities.

“At Axis, we take pride in working with organizations like Windsor Port Authority to contribute to improved marine domain awareness and heightened safety along the border,” said Anthony Incorvati, transportation segment development manager for the Americas at Axis.

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“Combining advanced camera and radar technology ensures comprehensive visibility in maritime environments, providing essential detection and visual verification to resolve incidents quickly and effectively. Not only that, but powerful business intelligence capabilities contribute to improved operations across the organization.”

With the pending upgrades, the cameras, which already have thermal imaging, will better track people moving in the water for life-saving missions, Berry said. On bright winter days, when all Berry can see on his monitors is ice reflecting sunshine, thermal imaging can pick up a drowning human.

Thermal imaging can also show Berry how many people are on a boat. The footage can be helpful with smuggling investigations, he said, including guns, drugs, and human smuggling.

“When we’re dealing with this, at three o’clock in the morning, five people on a boat, I’m going to guarantee you, they’re not up to any good,” Berry said. “Being able to track the boat and have the video and the thermal … if it’s reported to the police that something occurred, I at least have that video.”

The Detroit River passageway between Lake Huron and Lake Erie sees between 6,000 and 9,000 commercial cargo vessels each year, plus more than 10,000 small fishing boats and other recreational watercraft.

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