A large-scale emissions monitoring campaign using remotely
piloted aircraft is launching this month in the Baltic specifically looking for
ships failing to comply with the sulfur content restrictions in the region. The
project conducted by the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) with the
Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency, is a continuation of similar projects
EMSA has undertaken in the area as well as the use of drones for other
monitoring efforts in Europe.
During the next three months, a specially equipped drone
will measure the sulfur content in the exhaust plumes of ships transiting the
Baltic Sea. The “sniffer” will be able to detect violations of the applicable
limits. At the same time, image data will also be collected for hydrographic surveying
purposes.
The remotely piloted aircraft will take off from the German
Armed Forces' Staberhuk site on the east coast of Fehmarn and fly over selected
ships operating in the Fehmarn Belt and the Kadetrinne/Kadetrenden to measure
the sulfur content of their exhaust plumes using specific sensors. It will be
possible to infer from the data the sulfur content of the ship’s fuel, which by
regulations can not exceed a level of 0.10 percent in the Baltic Sea Emission
Control Area (SECA).
The measurement results are made available in real-time to
the authorities in European ports via the Port State Control information system
operated by EMSA. According to the EU’s agency for maritime interest, ships can
be specifically selected for inspection at their next port of call, and samples
of the fuel can be taken. If violations of the strict sulfur limits can be
proven, those responsible face heavy penalties.
EMSA offers the Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS)
services free of charge to EU countries. They have been developed to assist in
maritime surveillance operations and ship emission monitoring and can operate
anywhere along the European Union coast. RPAS services can provide support to
traditional coast guard functions, including search and rescue and pollution
prevention and response.
Danish and French authorities operated similar emission
monitoring programs with EMSA in 2020 and last year the agency implemented a
monitoring program in the Baltic at the request of the Environmental Protection
Department of Lithuania’s Ministry of the Environment. Spanish authorities in
2021 conjunction with EMSA deployed drones over the busy shipping lanes at the
Strait of Gibraltar to monitor the level of sulfur oxides being released by
ships. They identified nearly 10 percent of the ships transiting the Strait of
Gibraltar for further inspection for possible breaches in the current sulfur
regulations.
In addition to ship exhaust gas measurements, this year the
drone program will acquire multispectral aerial imagery. The drone survey
campaign will investigate whether aerial imagery can provide complementary
information for the German hydrographic surveying service. For shallow waters,
bathymetric values can be extracted from images. The imagery will also allow
for three-dimensional mapping of the shore zone.
The drone flights are operated by the Norwegian company
Nordic Unmanned on behalf of EMSA. The sensor technology and analysis
capabilities for the emission measurements is supplied by the Danish company
Explicit ApS.