EMEA News
France Deploys Sniffer Drone for Sulfur Testing at Calais
France's government has deployed a sniffer drone at Calais to test for compliance with the 0.1% sulfur limit on marine fuels in the area, according to the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA).
The drone's operation started on September 23 and will last for three months, EMSA said in a statement on its website last week.
The information gathered by sniffer drones is not in itself used to prosecute shipowners for sulfur breaches, but is used to inform port authorities about which ships should be inspected.
"If the emissions measurement taken by the drone reveals a breach in the concentration limit, a subsequent ship inspection may be triggered at the next port of call," EMSA said.
"EU member states are informed of these breaches to facilitate the coordination of the ship inspections among them."
