Drones to monitor sulfur emissions from ships over the Baltic Sea

The European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) has kicked off a large-scale emissions monitoring campaign in the Baltic Sea this week. As part of the project, drones are being deployed through Germany to remotely measure the sulfur content in ships’ exhaust plumes and detect violations of the applicable limits.

According to the Baltic Sea Emission Control Area (SECA), the sulfur content in a ship’s fuel must not exceed the level of 0.10%.

So, over the next three months, Norway-based drone manufacturer Nordic Unmanned’s CAMCOPTER S-100 aircraft will fly over selected ships operating in the German Fehmarn Belt and the Kadetrinne/Kadetrenden to determine whether they are complying with the IMO 2020 sulfur and nitrogen oxide regulations. Should vessels be found utilizing fuel with a sulfur concentration greater than 0.10%, they will likely undergo further investigation, such as an inspection at the next port of call.

In the meantime, the emission-monitoring…