At least until the end of this year, drones will again be visible above the port of Antwerp. This will be done for checks or incidents. The images can also be quickly shared with the emergency services. Later, the port wants a network of self-flying drones.
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The Antwerp Port Authority will already receive a pilot from the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) until the end of this year. It can fly a drone that can help the port with all kinds of enforcement tasks above the 120 square kilometer port area.
“Due to the vastness of the port and the presence of sensitive industrial infrastructure, drones can make a major contribution to safety in the area,” says the Port Authority. “The drone pilot can the port authorities – the port authority officers – during inspections or in the event of an incident bird’s eye view(bird’s eye view, ed.) delivering the situation on site. The images are also remotely accessible, so that they can be quickly shared with emergency services if necessary. For privacy reasons, the images are not saved. ”
Oil leaks
According to the Antwerp ships of Haven Annick De Ridder (N-VA), drones are indispensable for a safe harbor in the near future. She finds innovation crucial in this. One application is that images of oil incidents at the University of Antwerp can train algorithms to automatically detect them in the future.
Ultimately, the Port Authority even hopes to create a network of self-flying drones that can provide a live feed of the various port activities.
In 2016, the Belgian army already deployed a drone above the port for surveillance, out of concern for possible terrorist attacks.
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