Ships’ masters and crew have become accustomed to dealing with a high volume of inspection visits to their vessels when they are in port but from early 2017 they may also have to contend with some visitors offshore.

The European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) recently went out to tender to companies that can supply remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS) — better known as drones — to undertake pollution and emissions monitoring for the shipping industry.

EMSA