EMEA News
Emissions Monitoring Drones Set to Fly from Hamburg, EMSA Says Member States Struggling to Enforce ECA Rules
The European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) and the European Space Agency (ESA) say that a study conducted by the two organisations to explore the feasibility of the use of drones for emissions monitoring in European emission control areas (ECAs) will see test flights leave out of Hamburg, Germany this July, the Wall Street Journal reports.
The two groups add that, if that if the test flights go well, drones could be regularly monitoring ships as early as next year.
"Member states are struggling to enforce the low-sulfur directives," said Leendert Bal, head of operations for EMSA.
"There are a lot of concern by shipowners that there is no level playing field. So we need to do as much measuring as possible, and drones will help us do more measurements."
Many European shipping companies, such as ferry operator Stena Line, are reported to have made significant investments in scrubbers and more environmentally-friendly propulsion systems in order to comply with ECA rules.
"Operators that do routes within the low emission zone will play by the rules," said Carl-Johan Hagman, CEO of Stena Line.
"But who is going to check, stop and, if necessary, fine an oceangoing ship coming from, let's say, the Atlantic to St. Petersburg?"
The EMSA and the ESA are said to be still exploring what kind of drones would be best suited for emissions monitoring, noting that they are looking for aircraft that could fly for a minimum of four hours with a 20 kilometre range.
The EMSA says the drones will fitted with both sulfur and CO2 sensors, as well as equipment to recognise individual ships by way of unique onboard identification beacons.
The drones will be used to conduct routine assessments along shipping routes in addition to monitoring specific vessels that have previously violated ECA regulations, explained the EMSA, adding that regulators could thereby establish a "black list" of emission rule violators.
"There have been some concerns that the drones may malfunction and collapse on ships," said Erik Lewenhaupt, head of corporate communications for Stena Group.
"But if we can get around that, anything that can measure emissions in the open water will be positive," he concluded.
Earlier this month, it was reported that the EMSA said it is "embracing what technology has to offer for maritime surveillance" and has been working with the ESA on two pilot projects intended to utilise drones for maritime surveillance and emissions monitoring.
