SAN DIEGO — A popular camera overlooking San Diego Bay was turned off. The web camera at the Cabrillo Monument had millions of viewers every year.
For the past ten years, the webcam has allowed people to catch scenic views of the San Diego skyline and ships passing by.
"Everything that people were coming here to see, you could see it on the San Diego webcam," said Barry Bahrami, the founder of the San Diego webcam and YouTube channel.
The camera had more than six million views last year. Navy families watched it to see their loved ones come home from deployment, and Bahrami said the U.S. Coast Guard used the camera for rescues. Last week the camera went black.
"It was a little bit of a shock," he said
Bahrami was informed the Navy had concerns and asked the National Park Service to turn it off.
"This was done in spite. There is no way you can tell me otherwise," he said.
His camera captured the warship "chicken incident" when two Navy ships looked like they would collide. Bahrami says his webcam was shut off Tuesday, one day before the Navy released its report on the incident.
"I was warned back when warship chicken happened that Navy officials up were pretty upset," he said.
CBS 8 received the following statement from NCIS:
"NCIS informally expressed force protection concerns to the National Park Service related to the private webcams and YouTube channel, which provided 24-hour webcam monitoring of vessels and equities located aboard Naval Air Station North Island, including aircraft hangers/flight lines, Naval Base Point Loma submarine assets, and the tracking of military personnel working aboard Naval Base Coronado. We look forward to continuing close coordination with NPS," said Jeff Houston of NCIS Public Affairs.
Meanwhile, Bahrami said the webcam wasn't a cause for concern.
"The whole argument of forced protection is nonsensical when you figure that anyone that comes here can see way more than we ever dared show on a live stream," he said.
He says the National Park Service can turn the camera back on. Currently, he's planning to set up new cameras near the Cabrillo Monument that will give similar views of the bay.
WATCH RELATED: Navy punishes 2 dozen officers, sailors in USS Bonhomme Richard fire