Schiebel, together with partner Nordic Unmanned, is supporting the Danish Maritime Authority (DMA) and the Danish Environmental Protection Agency (DEPA) by using the CAMCOPTER® S-100 to monitor ship emissions in Danish waters. The Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS) service is offered by the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA).

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 to the EMSA RPAS Data Centre and to THETIS EU in Portugal, which creates alerts to be followed up by authorities.

The service providers for this Danish deployment covering the Great Belt are Nordic Unmanned, NORCE Research Institute AS and Schiebel. The Schiebel CAMCOPTER® 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 L3 Wescam Electro-Optical / Infra-Red (EO/IR) camera gimbal and an Automatic Identification System (AIS) receiver.

Schiebel provides various maritime surveillance services for EMSA to several EU member states and EU bodies. Currently, the CAMCOPTER® S-100 is also operational for the Republic of Croatia as well as Finland.

Hans Georg Schiebel, Chairman of the Schiebel Group, said: “After our successful sulphur sniffing demonstration in January, we’re proud to be EMSA’s chosen UAS for these important and complex operations. It goes to show, that the maritime experience and pedigree of the CAMCOPTER® S-100 is second to none.”

Knut Roar Wiig, CEO of Nordic Unmanned AS, said: “It’s great to be back in Denmark supporting Danish authorities in the prevention of marine air pollution. We are very impressed by the performance of the CAMCOPTER® S-100 and its small and effective logistical footprint, in addition to the support from the Schiebel Group. Based on our team’s experience and track record, the BVLOS flight permit for this deployment in Denmark was secured in only a week’s time.”