PROVIDENCE — Police Sgt. Kenneth J. Vinacco guides the aggressive-looking 27-foot boat through the Fox Point Hurricane Barrier, under the new green steel Route 195 bridge and down the Providence River.
Gliding along on the easy rumble of two 225-horsepower Honda outboard engines, the boat passes the ProMet Marine Services repair yard, Conley’s Wharf and the Municipal Wharf. Vinacco turns to look at several domes and silos filled with cement and an orange-hulled Russian ship loading scrap metal.
Also looming to starboard is a large white tank that contains liquefied propane gas, or LPG, one of the sensitive assets at the Municipal Wharf.
Accompanied by another police officer, Vinacco is en route to rendezvous with the Coast Guard somewhere near Conimicut Point in Warwick, where the Providence River ends and Narragansett Bay begins.
Editors Note: An excellent story about how the Providence police department is working with the Coast Guard to protect the port.Read the rest of the story at the Providence Journal
