Monostatic vessel detection statistics from the CODAR SeaSonde

Rutgers University has begun to use their SeaSonde HF Radar coastal ocean current and wave-monitoring network for vessel detection purposes. This project aims to evaluate the effectiveness of using the HF Radar network for vessel detection in the New York Harbor. Two separate HF Radar sites were analyzed. The sites, Sea Bright and Seaside Park, are located along the New Jersey coast and are separated by approximately 48 km. The data from each of these sites was analyzed and compared to Automatic Identification System (AIS) data provided by ships entering and leaving the New York Harbor. This was done for a week (Sunday, October 21st through Sunday, October 28th) on a daily basis to determine the number of ships that were accurately detected by the HF Radar network. Sea Bright had an average detection rate of 72% for the week and Seaside Park had an average rate of 78%. Overall the HF radar network proved to be a quite accurate vessel detection resource during this one week case. At Sea Bright and Seaside Park, the radar detected an average of 6.375 and 5.75 vessels that were not reporting to the AIS network, respectively. The HF radar network´s ability to detect vessels that do not report to the AIS network will be a great contribution to matters of homeland security.