According to the Danish Maritime Authority (DMA) this drone is provided by the European Maritime Safety Agency, and will operate in a specific area north of the Great Belt. This is the second time EMSA has tested a sulphur-sniffing drone in Denmark. Last year, a different model patrolled in the area for three months. The new drone has previously been used for various surveillance tasks.

By flying into the ship’s exhaust gas plume, the drone can use its sniffer technology to register the sulphur content in the ship’s fuel. These data are immediately available to the Danish Environmental Protection Agency, who can then follow up if a ship is emitting too much sulphur.