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The use of drones is in line with the strategic ambition of the Port of Rotterdam Authority to be an even
of technical development, regulations, knowledge of added policies that cover testing and experimenting with remote
safer, more sustainable and more efficient port. The innovation programme Drone Port of Rotterdam is value, specific business cases, and the degree to which the control, out of the pilot’s sight, and automatic flight. In the
intended to develop the port area into an area where providers of drone services can experiment in a new technology is accepted and embraced. The Drone Port next two years, permits will be granted under certain
relevant environment. In the hybrid port of the future, drones will be used in addition to vessels, trains, of Rotterdam programme can make the difference in each of conditions for drones to fly in a ‘temporary area with

and trucks for the transport of freight and passengers. Together with businesses and the authorised these aspects. restrictions’ Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS). This will
allow for experimental flights of more than 500 metres.
bodies, we are preparing our airspace and procedures for this in steps.

Businesses that want to explore specific applications or

author: Ingrid Römers Drone Port of Rotterdam consists of five parts: business models will need additional, relevant test
1. Rotterdam, the safest port to fly; environments where the risks can still be controlled. This is the
Drones are fast, clean, maintenance-friendly, relatively cheap will be able to take larger packages and even people on 2. Drones for the Port of Rotterdam Authority; type of purpose for which the Port Authority wants to make
and safe. The Port of Rotterdam Authority does not have board, but when exactly is hard to predict. When Jeff Bezos 3. Drone Services Port; the port area available. With a Dutch company and a
a fleet of drones of its own, but it has been hiring drones for announced the first deliveries by drone in 2013, he expected 4. U-Space airspace; fixed-wing drone for long-distance flight, we set up a fixed
many years to render assistance in various tasks. Companies this service to be operational in his own company by 2020. 5. The mobile port. station between Europoort and Maasvlakte in 2022 for half a
in the port of Rotterdam also use drones to an increasing Full exploitation of this type of delivery, however, will not be year. In collaboration with helicopter operator NHV of the
extent, to inspect complex installations in the process industry realised any time soon. This does not mean that drone develop- Pilotage Service, we will examine how the drone and
that would otherwise be very difficult to reach. The deploy- ment has come to a standstill. On the contrary, the drone helicopter can use the airspace safely together. In this period,
ment of drones is safer for people, it is more efficient, and it world is bristling with activity. Test environments and demonstrations the drone will perform tasks for the Port Authority and public
contributes to maintaining the infrastructure well. In the future, So far, technical tests with drones have only been conducted services, such as surveillance tasks in the port and at sea.
drones will also play a role in fighting drug-related crime Drone Port of Rotterdam in risk-free areas or areas that were closed to the public, such Companies, too, can hire the drone to test their use cases or
or detecting air pollution. There have already been trials with To explore the possible applications of drones further and on as farm fields. New parts, control methods, materials, and develop their ideas, for instance about package delivery.
package delivery by drone to sea-going vessels and inland a larger scale, we set up the innovation programme Drone sense-and-avoid techniques are rigorously tested before they
vessels. Before long, this method will be used to take spare Port of Rotterdam. Not unlike the majority of technological enter production, and so is the performance of already There will also be demonstration flights from Maasvlakte to
parts, documents and medicines to vessels. Later on, drones innovations, the full exploitation depends on a combination existing drones. The Dutch government has developed an offshore platform with other drone types for delivery and
long-distance surveillance. Organisations interested in developing services involving drones and potential clients using these Applications of this type are the subject of regular pilots, for instance on increasing the mooring capacity for inland vessels
services will be invited to gain more knowledge about these drones and to get or suggest ideas. These demonstrations will take carrying hazardous substances. Via a drone, the Harbour Master’s Division watches if everything is going fine. In this way,
place in the Dutch Drone Delta (DDD), of which the Port of Rotterdam Authority is one of the co-founders. The DDD joins forces assistance provided at the location can be restricted to situations in which it is absolutely necessary.
with public services, business and relevant stakeholders for the future of Urban Air Mobility. The DDD is committed to creating
social support for drone applications and focuses on autonomous long-distance flight, the safe integration of manned and
unmanned traffic, delivery by drone, and the transport of freight and passengers between and in cities. The demonstrations in the
Rotterdam port area are part of this. 3. DRONE SERVICES PORT
With the rapidly advancing technological developments, there are more and
more drone applications that are interesting to port areas in particular.
1. ROTTERDAM, THE SAFEST PORT TO FLY Examples include taking samples or performing inspections of hold and cargo
even before the vessel arrives at the port. Here, drones will be used that can
These developments are driven not only by technology but also by legislation find their way autonomously while detecting and avoiding objects during
and regulations on the use of drones. The European Union is working on flight. This may help vessels and terminals comply with all regulations without
harmonisation and regulations, with the emphasis shifting from regulation- any delay.
based to risk-based policies. Drone use is permitted on an increasingly wider
scale, on the condition that safety is safeguarded. Providers of new drone Vessels receiving delivery by drone of parts required for repairs at sea can
services have to analyse the risks and demonstrate that these are reduced to reduce their berthing time in the port. Progressive shipping companies are thinking
acceptable levels. about ways to adjust safety regulations on board to provide for the safe landing of
drones on their vessels.
We have the ambition to be the Safest Port to Fly. In consultation with the
authorised bodies, we will assess the port area for drone-related risks and Applications for clients, such as transporting documents and delivering parts over various distances, as well as gas detection,
propose measures to mitigate these risks so as to safeguard a safe use of airspace emission monitoring and measuring quality (of water for example), require different types of drones and services. As a Drone
while drones can be deployed in the best way possible. The four other Dutch sea Services Port, the Port of Rotterdam wants several drone services to be available to all sectors of the port business community,
ports are also involved in this consultation, in which aspects like privacy and cyber from maritime and inland shipping to the offshore industry, as from 2022. To this end, we are actively looking for companies that
security are discussed as well. provide drone applications in the maritime sector and that want to cooperate with us.

With partners in the Safety Region, we will set up a protection model in the next few years to prevent the use of drones for mala
fide purposes, including espionage, sabotage and drug trafficking. This model has been developed by the Royal Netherlands
Aerospace Centre (NLR) and the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO) in cooperation with the Dutch 4. U-SPACE AIRSPACE
Ministry of Defence. The steps of this model range from prevention and detection to neutralisation.
U-Space airspace is the European name for environments in which major traffic flows
of drones need to be managed. Preparing the port area for a future in which drone
traffic is likely to intensify is a process in steps and takes careful consideration.
2. DRONES FOR THE PORT OF ROTTERDAM AUTHORITY On the one hand, infrastructural adjustments are needed, including sky ports
where drones can take off and land safely. On the other hand, tasks and
The role of cameras in the port is getting more and more important. These can be fixed cameras but also mobile cameras, like powers have to be laid down clearly.
those attached to a drone. Shipping masters on patrol vessels are already being assisted by fire department drones when
handling incidents like water pollution for instance. Drones can map the size of an oil spill and The Harbour Master has always been the competent authority that
find its source quickly. In a similar way, they can detect the location of heavy objects that organises and provides VTS, Vessel Traffic Services, for maritime shipping.
have fallen overboard. Vessels nearby can be alerted in time so that collisions are These outstanding VTS services have made Rotterdam a safe port for
prevented. Drones also provide support when quays and other infrastructure are maritime shipping for many decades. We want to examine if the Port Authority
inspected. They conduct checks and perform measurements in the port area, can also manage air traffic in the lower airspace as a regular port operation.
a method that is more efficient and improves safety. When a storm is brewing, Or should this task be assigned to air traffic controllers, for instance, who have
drones can be deployed to check if vessels are moored securely at their so much experience in the field of manned aviation?
berths. After a storm, drones can assist in speeding up clean-up operations
by mapping debris and waste that has been blown into the port basins. An Choices in setting up and managing procedures for this airspace of up to 150 metres will
incident vessel with shifted containers on board that asks for admission to be essential in the next few years. The same applies to financing these. Shore-based radar and
the port of Rotterdam can be assessed quickly with the help of a drone so personnel costs of maritime shipping VTS are partly paid from the port dues. For the use of drones, some kind of air dues or air tax
that proper measures can be taken. might be charged.
On the basis of market surveys and interviews with supply parties and demand parties, we expect drone traffic to be busy enough Exploring together and sharing knowledge
for the port of Rotterdam to put U-Space airspace in place so that we can use a wide set of rules drawn up for these spaces. The Drone Port of Rotterdam is the ideal setting for experimenting in the relevant environment, in which we, the Port of Rotterdam
‘There will be value in a good organisation of the lower airspace,’ said one of the port’s clients. Authority, learn about the risks and uncertainties before we invest in infrastructure, our own drone fleet, safety, protection, et
cetera. We will gain more insight into the infrastructure we need, whether additional rules for a highly industrialised (port) area are
Legislation for U-Space airspace will take effect in January 2023. Next year, we will know which role the Port of Rotterdam required, and what these should look like. We will find out how a single, uninterrupted airspace can be created for the port and
Authority will be playing in this context. In the same year, we will start developing a prototype to gain experience with the U-Space how far it will stretch.
concept: an Unmanned Traffic Management system for managing airspace in the port. Drone service providers report their flights
via this system. The port will be a controlled area to which every authorised operator gets access and can perform its flights safely Cooperation and knowledge sharing are essential to accelerate the development of the potential of drone technology for port
and without any conflicts with other traffic. The police and port manager can consult the system for information about the drones areas. Drone Port of Rotterdam is a process we want to work on as Port Authority together with entrepreneurs in the port and the
in the air. Are these flights legal? What are the positions of these drones? This system can even be made accessible to the public competent authorities.
at large via apps. When they spot a drone, they can establish via the app why this drone is deployed. They can also see which
company operates it and whether this operator complies with the GDPR.
For further information, please contact:

Ingrid Römers
5. THE MOBILE PORT Sr. advisor Port of Rotterdam Authority
iiem.romers@portofrotterdam.com
The ability to operate long-distance flights is a major step towards the +31 (0)6 1582 2469, or visit www.portofrotterdam.com/drones.
realisation of a hybrid port, in which drones are used in addition to pipelines,
railways, roads, and waterways for freight transport. With Drone Port of
Rotterdam, we will look for opportunities in the various logistic chains when
drones with a payload of up to hundreds of kilos will become feasible.

In the long term, passenger transport per drone will no longer be a dream.
Drones can then be used for taking service engineers or pilots to installations
that are hard to reach or to vessels outside the port in a relatively short time.

We are currently consulting with several frontrunners in passenger drone design

how these drones can contribute to improved mobility in the port. This would be
interesting to crews that want to travel to the airport quickly to make the most of
their leave, and it would reduce congestion on the A15 motorway, on which there is
increasingly heavy commuter traffic. If a CO2 tax for travelling by car is introduced, passenger
drones will definitely be a viable alternative. In short, this possibility is worth investigating.

Today, passenger transport by drone is still a distant prospect. We assume that the first tests will take place in 2024 and that the
corresponding legislation will become effective two years later. All the same, in the coming years, we want to use a step-by-step
approach to prepare our airspace and procedures for the full (commercial) exploitation of drones. Drone Port of Rotterdam lays
the foundation for this.