Drone flights were held in the western port area of the port of Rotterdam on 16 August for AMU-LED, the European demonstration project on the integration of drones in (urban) airspace. The demonstration is part of the preparations to prepare the airspace for autonomous flights.
Drones are increasingly being used in the Port of Rotterdam by companies in the port area. There are many possible applications:
- Deployment at incidents
- Water pollution and firefighting
- Surveillance and inspections
- Monitoring port operations and security
- Damage control
- Inspections of installations at terminals.
- Construction and maintenance of infrastructure, such as roads and bridges and in emissions.
The Port of Rotterdam is also increasingly deploying drones, among other things to support surveillance by patrol vessels and inspectors as well as for incident response.
However, the Port Authority is confident that in the near future drones will have a major impact on logistics chains and smart mobility. New European regulations pave the way for developing new applications in unmanned freight and passenger transport.
Fast deliveries of crucial production parts to ships at sea and the safe transport of people, for example to ships and drilling rigs, but also for business transport in the port, will then become possible. To this end, the airspace will be prepared for autonomous flights in steps over the next few years.
