Use of drones in the port area

Special provisions for the area of the Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg

From the maritime police point of view of the HPA, the operation of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) in the area of the federal waterway and other port waters is not expected to endanger the safety and ease of shipping traffic, provided the following requirements are met:

Operation of UAS within visual line of sight (VLOS) of the remote pilot.

A minimum horizontal lateral distance of 50 m (250 m for military watercraft) must be maintained from watercraft (lying or moving).

The path of watercraft may only be crossed at a horizontal distance of at least 200 m (300 m for military watercraft).

Watercraft must be given the right of way in all cases; in particular, arriving and departing watercraft must not be obstructed.

Watercraft, with the exception of military vessels, may be flown over at a vertical distance of at least 50 m, provided that the maximum authorized flight altitude permits this and the UAS is equipped with a parachute safety system or a comparable safety system with which damage to the property of third parties can be safely avoided at a drop height of 50m.

Deviations from the above-mentioned distances may be made for watercraft if their owners or the ship's command have expressly agreed to this in advance. The written form is recommended.

Take-offs from and landings on moving vessels or floating devices underway are prohibited for safety reasons.

Operation of UAS beyond the visual line of sight of the remote pilot (BVLOS).

A minimum flight altitude of 120m above the water surface must be maintained at all times. Ascents and descents must be made over land.

The flight altitude may be reduced if the remote pilot can visually rule out with certainty, by means of camera systems and/or observers on the ground, that the distances to watercraft applicable to VLOS flights will be undershot. An assessment by public maritime tracking systems is not sufficient.

The UAS shall be equipped with a parachute or comparable safety system that can safely prevent damage to third party property at a drop height of 50m.

Insofar as the operation of drones affects rights of the HPA as owner of (unleased) properties, further regulations regarding consent are reserved. Requests in this regard can, if necessary, be addressed to the HPA at.

immobilienservice@hpa.hamburg.de to the HPA.

In general:

This consent is given without prejudice to the rights of third parties as well as further prohibitions and requirements for approval and consent that are outside the scope of the HPA's competence. Provisions of data protection law remain unaffected.