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The Norwegian Maritime Authority has entered into a contract to purchase three drone sulphur emission detectors following a period of testing during the summer.

The initiative forms part of a public sector cooperation with the Coast Guard, the Norwegian Coastal Administration (NCA) and the Norwegian Radiation Protection Authority (NRPA).

The NOK 14m ($1.7m) framework contract entered into with Norse Asset Solutions will enable the government agencies to use as many as five drones and specialized equipment which, amongst other things, will be used to measure sulphur emissions.

Ups surveillance offensive after summer trials

During summer trials with a drone, the technology is said to have discovered that a cruise vessel in Flam, southwestern Norway, was emitting sulphur levels deemed to be "too high".

All in all, the tests were said to have been a "great success"; and now Norway is upping its surveillance offensive with the addition of another two drone sulphur detectors - bringing the total number in regular use to three.

The equipment is to be used to detect illegal emissions, locate oil spills and assist in rescue work.

The plan is to equip the drones with different types of sensors depending on the mission. In addition to the standard camera used, an infrared camera is also an option, as well as other sensors.

The initiative also aims to broaden its geographical coverage moving forwards.

"Sulphur emission control of exhaust will now be expanded to a larger geographical area than today, and the control will become more effective," explained Thomas Angell Bergh, Head of Section for Inspection, Audit and Emergency Preparedness.

In terms of safety, Norwegian Maritime Authority notes that the drones shall never be less than 50 metres away from a vessel that they are monitoring and will always be followed by a MOB boat behind the ship.

Violations represent 2.4 percent of all 2018 inspections

So far this year, the Norwegian Maritime Authority says it has conducted 205 inspections to check ship sulphur emissions, with five violations discovered - representing 2.4 percent of the total.

The shipping companies found to have exceeded permitted sulphur emission levels were fined between NOK 250,000 ($30,550) and NOK 600,000 ($73,320), the Norwegian Maritime Authority said.

'First in the world' claim

The maritime authority is also claiming that Norway is the first country in the world to incorporate sulphur drone testing into regular operations. It notes that whilst Denmark has been testing drone sulphur sensors for a while, it has "not yet put them into normal operation".