Marine Link
Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Danish Maritime Authority Use Drones for Inspection

Maritime Activity Reports, Inc.

September 17, 2016

The Danish Maritime Authority now has its first certified drone pilot and will, in the future, use the drone as a supplement in connection with inspections of the Authority's lighthouses.

A small pocket camera is put through a hole in the ceiling and a photo is taken in the little dark area. From the outside, the naked eye and binoculars are used. Often, this has been reality when surveyors from the Danish Maritime Authority have assessed the condition of a lighthouse roof. Now, they have totally different possibilities.

The Danish Maritime Authority has procured a four-armed drone and Constructing Architect Jesper Kern Hansen has been certified as a drone pilot.

With a look of concentration, Jesper Kern Hansen sends the drone up into the air and directs it slowly but safely to Nordborg Lighthouse. The view from the top of the lighthouse over the Little Belt is magnificent, but that is not the view that the drone is focusing on. The camera is sharply directed towards the roof and the front of the old lighthouse building.

A couple of years ago, the roof was replaced and now it is to be inspected for any defects. Today, the inspection takes only a few minutes, the result being sharp photos and a video for documentation.

- We can use the drone to inspect the upper parts of the front as well as the roof structure better than previously when we had only our eyes and possibly binoculars, says Constructing Architect Jesper Kern Hansen.

After having completed the course, Jesper Kern Hansen is one of the first persons in Denmark who has been certified as a drone pilot.

The drone certificate permits the holder to fly drones professionally in densely built-up areas as well as up to a distance of 2 km from airports.

The drone is expected to be able to contribute considerably to the assessment of the condition of roofs, gutters, upper parts of lighthouse facades as well as to subsequent documentation of the surfaces treated.
 

Subscribe for
Maritime Reporter E-News

Maritime Reporter E-News is the maritime industry's largest circulation and most authoritative ENews Service, delivered to your Email five times per week