Drones: EU uses flying patrols to sniff for illegal ship fuel

By Matthew Sparkes

Drones are routinely being used for anti-pollution missions off the coast of Europe to “sniff” the exhaust fumes from ships and catch operators using illegal fuel.

At the start of last year, the UN’s International Maritime Organization introduced new legislation to reduce the limit on the percentage of sulphur in fuel used by ships from 3.5 per cent to 0.5 per cent. Certain congested areas, such as the English Channel and the Strait of Gibraltar, have special limits of 0.1 per cent. Sulphur oxide …