Innovative drone tracking of ship emissions at the Port of Klaipėda

Project leader

The project was led by Lithuanian national institutions, including the Department of Environmental Protection, under the Ministry of Environment, the Klaipeda State Seaport Directorate, and the Fisheries Service, under the Ministry of Agriculture, together with the support of the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA).

Description of the project

The port of Klaipeda, Lithuania, has successfully carried out an innovative three-month drone mission to monitor the exhaust gas quality of 140 ships along the Baltic Sea coast and the country’s port waters.

The drones, owned by the Port of Klaipeda, were used to monitor ship movements, measure the sulphur content of ships’ emissions and document cases of water pollution. These were equipped with various devices, such as a sensor to measure the sulfur content in the exhaust gases, a GPS coordinate locator, and infrared and conventional cameras to detect oil stains in the water during both day and night.

The mission detected seven violations in ships’ exhaust emissions. Subsequently, the administrations of the ships’ flag countries were informed to initiate additional inspections.

In addition, during the mission, the drone also provided relevant data to the Fisheries Service inspectors on the control of fishing in the Baltic Sea. Raids were carried out on different coasts where, using drone cameras, inspectors searched for illegally placed fishing nets, monitored the behaviour and work of coastal fishermen, and organised combined maritime and port inspections.

This initiative demonstrates how the use of drones can be an effective tool for controlling ship emissions and water pollution, helping to reduce the environmental impact of shipping activities and enforce international and national agreements on ships to avoid potential environmental protection breaches. In addition, with the example of fisheries control, it is also shown that the use of these drones can be wider, being able to be implemented in other types of inspections and surveillance.

Objectives of the project

The main objective of the mission was to examine and control, in a more innovative way, the quality of gases emitted by ships using drones, with the aim of reducing the environmental impact of maritime activities and ensuring compliance with international and national agreements to avoid possible environmental violations.