Americas News
Drone Tech for ECA Compliance Under Development
Update: Corrected funding agency to Danish EPA
IT engineering company Explicit is working on a drone-based monitoring technology that could check for ships violating sulfur emission rules in Emissions Control Areas (ECAs), industry news site ShippingWatch reports.
The project, which is funded by the Danish Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), could provide an alternative to taking fuel samples from ships at berth to test for compliance with sulfur caps, or using "sniffers" fixed in particular spots to measure exhaust from passing ships.
"The advantage of using drone technology is that it is much cheaper to deploy than traditional surveillance methods at sea," said Explicit CEO Jon Knudsen.
"Both because drones in and of themselves are comparatively inexpensive and because the sensor technology mounted on the drones is much cheaper than sensors placed far from the emission source."
The drone system would calculate a ship's position, seek out its plume and measure the composition of the exhaust.
In November, environmental group Transport & Environment warned that European ECAs would face "massive noncompliance" unless governments develop enforcement mechanisms for sulfur caps.
