, together with partners Nordic Unmanned and the NORCE Research Institute AS, is operating the CAMCOPTER S-100 to monitor sulphur emission in one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes in the strait of Pas-de-Calais, for the French Maritime Authorities. The operation started on 23 September and will run for three months.
The Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS) service is offered by the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) to French Authorities. The CAMCOPTER S-100 specifically measures the ships’ sulphur emissions to check compliance with the EU rules governing the sulphur content of marine fuels. Measurements are transmitted in real time through the EMSA RPAS Data Centre to the relevant authorities.
As part of this contract, Schiebel provides various maritime surveillance services for EMSA to several EU member states and EU bodies. Currently, the CAMCOPTER S-100 is also operational in Denmark for emission monitoring purposes, as well as in Finland supporting coast guard functions.
In addition to the EMSA contract, the S-100 is being operated by the French Navy to conduct maritime surveillance.
Hans Georg Schiebel, Chairman of the Schiebel Group, said:
“Due to its multi-payload capacity, the applications for the S-100 are limitless. The sulphur sniffing capability is one of the latest innovations and we are very proud to play such an important role in enforcing marine fuel sulphur content regulations.”
Bruno Boucher, Vice president of Governmental Affairs at Nordic Unmanned was delighted to get the operation underway in parallel to another similar active deployment:
“Beyond the complex technical integration challenges, meeting all regulatory requirements and setting up an agile operation team that can deliver safe missions day after day in a multinational environment is what differentiates Nordic Unmanned in a fast growing market “.
The consortium led by Nordic Unmanned with its partner NORCE Research Institute AS, leverages technology and services from Schiebel and Explicit, to ensure that vessels comply with the IMO 2020 sulphur regulations. Should vessels utilize fuel with a sulphur concentration higher than the limitation of 0,1%, they could expect an inspection at the next port of call.
Knut Roar Wiig, CEO at Nordic Unmanned was excited about flying in France:
“We are very focused on supporting environmental authorities in enforcing the SO2 regulation to reduce marine air pollution. To be able to do so in the busiest shipping lane in the world is very important and satisfying for us. We continue to pioneer the unmanned aviation industry, and France is the 4th country in Europe where we are getting permit to fly a unmanned aircraft with MTOW greater than 150kg beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) in different classes of civilian airspace. Our industry is still in the early exciting days, and the potential for the use of unmanned technology now, and in the future, are tremendous.”
The S-100 has a flight endurance of more than six hours and operates day and night. It is equipped with an Explicit mini sniffer sensor system, an Electro-Optical / Infra-Red (EO/IR) camera gimbal and an Automatic Identification System (AIS) receiver.
Source: Press Releases