EMSA expands RPAS operations across Europe

The European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) published that it is now active in nine separate operations across 10 Member States and from on board two European Fisheries Control Agency (EFCA) patrol vessels. These operations benefit over 20 national authorities with maritime responsibilities.

In the Baltic Sea, since May, EMSA's RPAS service has been providing comprehensive maritime surveillance to the Estonian Navy, the Finnish Border Guard, and the Latvian Coast Guard. Similarly, in the North Sea, a successful operation from the previous year has resumed, supporting the Danish Navy and Customs from mid-April to mid-August.

A RPAS deployment for emissions monitoring and multipurpose maritime surveillance forms part of an EMSA-led Multipurpose Maritime Operation (MMO) for the second year running. In 2024 the MMO takes place in La Manche and the Southern North Sea, in collaboration with the French General directorate of maritime affairs, fishery and aquaculture, and the Belgian Navy and Coast Guard service.

In the Atlantic, a RPAS multipurpose regional operation is ongoing in Spain and Portugal, at the request of the Spanish Directorate General of Merchant Shipping (DGMM) and the Portuguese Directorate General for Natural Resources, Safety and Maritime Services (DGRM), and with the involvement of up to ten national authorities with responsibilities in the maritime domain.

The Italian Coast Guard is once again benefiting from an RPAS mission this summer, focusing on maritime surveillance and whale migration monitoring in the protected Pelagos Sanctuary in the Gulf of Genoa.

For fisheries control, two RPAS are currently supporting the European Fisheries Control Agency on board their chartered vessels, the Ocean Sentinel and the Ocean Protector.

The RPAS emissions monitoring service requested by the Spanish Directorate General of Merchant Shipping (DGMM) is supporting Spanish authorities in the Port of Barcelona, one of the largest and busiest ports in Europe. In Germany, another emissions monitoring service is being deployed from on board the German Federal Police vessel Potsdam, for a mission in the North Sea, serving the German Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH).

EMSA's deployment of RPAS services across various European regions demonstrates the Agency’s commitment to support Member States in enhancing maritime safety, environmental monitoring, and fisheries control, while at the same time fostering international collaboration due to their strong regional component.

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