1. EMSA's perspective on RPAS/UAV Maritime Surveillance services
3rd Workshop on European Unmanned Maritime Systems; Porto, 29 May 2014
Leendert Bal
Head of Department
Operations
Location and Information Sharing Systems Willem de Ruiter 03/03/2010

2. Technical and operational support ~240 staff, 24 nationalities
Regulatory Agency of
the European Union
10 years in existence
Own legal identity
Technical and operational support
~240 staff, 24 nationalities
~80 staff in Operations Department
Annual overall budget: ~50 million Euros
HQ Lisbon, Portugal
Post-Prestige (2004: New tasks include pollution response)
Location and Information Sharing Systems Willem de Ruiter 03/03/2010

4. EMSA’s growing role in Maritime Surveillance based on maritime information systems
Ship reporting services: - SafeSeaNet (short range monitoring – terrestrial stations) - Satellite-AIS (long range monitoring together with ESA) - LRIT (Long Range Identification and Tracking)
Earth observation service: - CleanSeaNet (oil spill monitoring and vessel detection) - Copernicus Maritime Surveillance Services as of 2015
Integrated Maritime Services (data fusion/correlation) 4
Location and Information Sharing Systems Willem de Ruiter 03/03/2010 4

5. New developments:
Enlarged legal mandate: By providing, …, relevant vessel positioning and earth observation data to the competent national authorities and relevant EU bodies … in order to facilitate measures against threats of piracy and of intentional unlawful acts …
Institutional Service Provider of “maritime picture” to other EU bodies: EFCA, FRONTEX, EU NAVFOR
Location and Information Sharing Systems Willem de Ruiter 03/03/2010

7. Current constraints to use RPAS as part of operations:
Negative public/political perception:
Intrusive, aggressive
Costly
Operational constraints:
Use in non-segregated airspace not regulated, no EU certification,
ATC for cross-border use?
Limited operational experience in civil domain. 7

8. Scanning for oil spills… Oil spill found!
Vessel detected!
Monitoring offshore platforms….
Searching for vessel in distress….
Offshore gas plume monitored!

9. Serving different applications/purposes:
Maritime Pollution Monitoring
Supporting Search and Rescue Operations
Monitoring accidents with Oil and Gas installations
Supporting law enforcement activities (fishery control, customs, anti-drug trafficking, border control)
Supporting Anti-piracy
Safety of Navigation: Iceberg and Ice boundary monitoring 9

10. RPAS: Operational Added Value
To be integrated in surveillance chain: used in combination with satellites and MPA,
More flexible than orbiting satellite
Small boat detection capability
Less sensors than surveillance aircraft but lower operating costs
Emissions monitoring: safer in situations with gas and/or explosion danger
Suitable for routine monitoring and event related action (pinpointing)
At-sea operation relatively safe
Small number of RPAS at strategic positions to assist EU Member States is a cost effective solution

11. Conclusions Clear maritime surveillance business case for RPAS
At-sea operation is straightforward and relatively safe
General public acceptance is an issue, also at EU level
Regulatory framework is required soon in order to be able to offer operational services – Commission Communication: >2016
Operational experience will grow quickly with on-going trials and projects: fine-tuning for right operational mix (sensors and endurance) is on-going
RPAS is interesting new data source
RPAS data is tested to be embedded in EMSA applications 11

12. © Portuguese Air Force