Drone Ops Consultants

Offshore and maritime drone operations

Vessels, platforms and hulls

Drones now do much of the first-look inspection work at sea: platform structures, offshore wind turbines, quaysides and ship hulls. Flying from a vessel or near an offshore installation adds layers on top of the normal aviation rules. The deck may be moving, the client runs its own safety system, helicopters may be operating nearby, and ports and harbours often set their own conditions.

This guide covers the UK position, with a short note on the US. It looks at aviation permissions, working within an installation's safety system, ports and harbours, and planning for weather, recovery and emergencies. Turbine and solar inspection methods are covered in the wind and solar inspection guide.

Vetted consultants

2 results

Pegasus Vectoring

London, GB

Pegasus Vectoring provides specialist consultancy for organisations developing and operating unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) in the Specific Category. They guide clients from initial operational concept through SORA development, regulatory authorisation, and ongoing compliance assurance, ensuring safe, practical and regulator‑defensible capabilities. Services include operational design, airspace and ground environment assessment, SORA and operational authorisation support, competence development

Pegasus Vectoring Limited is an independent specialist consultancy helping organisations develop safe, practical and regulator-ready unmanned aviation capabilities. We start with the client’s operational need—not a predetermined regulatory solution. Working collaboratively, we define the objective, characterise the operating environment and develop a proportionate operational and regulatory strategy. Our support extends from early feasibility and concept development through risk assessment, OSC and SORA applications, operational documentation, findings resolution and ongoing assurance. Our experience includes BVLOS operations within Atypical Air Environments, critical infrastructure and heavy-lift UAS. Led by a former airline captain with 23 years of aviation experience and UK CAA and UAE GCAA Airline Transport Pilot Licences, Pegasus combines operational judgement with structured regulatory analysis. Our aim is not simply to secure an approval, but to help clients establish a safe, sustainable and scalable operational capability.

CAA

Vaspba Remote Piloted Systems Ltd

Winfrith, GB

CAA Regulatory Consultancy | Agriculture | Heavy Lift | BVLOS | Drone Forensics & Expert Witness Support

Vaspba Remote Piloted Systems Ltd is a UK specialist in uncrewed aircraft systems, regulatory consultancy and operational support. We assist organisations with CAA Operational Authorisations, PDRA and SORA applications, ConOps, Operations Manuals, risk assessments, compliance evidence and BVLOS projects. Our services also include independent drone accident investigation, flight-log analysis, technical reporting and expert-witness support for legal, insurance and commercial disputes. With practical experience in UAS design, integration, testing, servicing and operations, we provide evidence-based advice grounded in real-world aviation and engineering experience.

CAA

Aviation permissions for flying from a vessel

The CAA's pre-defined risk assessment PDRA01 covers many visual line of sight (VLOS) jobs in the Specific category, but it sets tight conditions on moving vehicles. The CAA's guidance (CAP 722H) says the remote pilot must not fly while operating any moving vehicle. They may fly from a moving vehicle as a passenger only if its speed and stability let them keep VLOS and control of the drone at all times.

The same guidance says that if the pilot is on a moving vehicle that may need to leave the drone's intended flight path, so that VLOS cannot be kept, the operation is outside the scope of PDRA01. It also asks operators to allow for reduced situational awareness and harder manual intervention when the pilot is on a boat over water. A vessel that may have to change course for traffic or sea state is the kind of case this describes.

Operations outside PDRA01, including beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) flying, need an operational authorization through UK SORA. New applications have used UK SORA since 23 April 2025. Existing holders of an Operating Safety Case (OSC) authorization can renew it on that basis for 12 months at a time until 31 December 2026, and UK SORA is planned to be the route for everyone from 1 January 2027. UK SORA authorizations last 12 months. The BVLOS approval guide covers the BVLOS case in more depth.

In the US, 14 CFR 107.25 says a small drone may not be flown from a moving water-borne vehicle unless it is flown over a sparsely populated area and is not carrying another person's property for compensation or hire.

Offshore installations and helidecks

An aviation authorization does not on its own let you fly at an offshore installation. Under the Offshore Installations and Pipeline Works (Management and Administration) Regulations 1995, the duty holder must run a system of written permits to work for work where the nature and scale of the risk call for it. HSE's guidance (L70) explains that permits are issued by the installation manager or another competent person authorized to do so. The duty holder decides whether a drone flight needs a permit, so ask early and fit your documents to their system.

Under the Petroleum Act 1987, most oil and gas installations that stand above the sea have a safety zone reaching 500 meters from any part of the installation. No vessel may enter or stay in a safety zone except under an order, regulations or a consent from HSE. A launch vessel working close to a platform needs that settled before it goes in.

CAP 437, the CAA's standard for offshore helicopter landing areas (Edition 9, amended January 2026), applies to helidecks on fixed and floating installations used for oil and gas or renewable energy. It does not contain a general procedure for drone flights near a helideck. It mentions drones once, in its protocol for helicopter flights to a normally unmanned installation in an abnormal state, which lists an external inspection from a standby vessel or drone. Keeping drones and helicopters apart is agreed locally. Agree the following with the duty holder before mobilising:

  • Whether the flight needs a permit to work, and who issues it
  • Launch and recovery positions, on the installation or on a vessel
  • How flights stop for helicopter movements, and who makes the call
  • Radio contact with the installation control room and any standby vessel
  • Rules for storing, charging and carrying batteries on board

Ports, harbours and vessel inspection

Harbour authorities can control drone flights through their own directions or byelaws, on top of CAA rules. Weymouth Harbour's General Directions 2024, for example, say no one may fly or operate a drone within or over the harbour without the Harbour Master's prior written permission, and flights must follow any conditions attached. Notice periods and conditions vary from port to port, so contact the harbour master before you plan the job.

Hull and vessel inspection in port usually means flying close to cranes, moored ships and moving traffic. Agree with the ship's master and the berth or terminal operator when the vessel is available, where the crew will stand and which areas are off limits. People on quaysides and passing boats who are not part of the job still count when you assess the risk.

Weather, recovery at sea and emergencies

CAP 722H expects the operations manual to include pre-flight checks of the forecast, local conditions, space weather and the drone's own limits, including wind and water ingress resistance. At sea these checks carry more weight, because a drone that comes down in the water is usually lost and recovery to a moving deck leaves little margin.

Plan take-off and recovery for the deck you have. Agree a clear area with the vessel's master, decide how the vessel will hold heading and speed during launch and recovery, and set wind and sea state limits beyond which you will not fly. Check how your aircraft's return-to-home function behaves when the take-off point has moved, and have pilots practise recovery to a moving deck before the job.

Your emergency response plan should cover a drone lost at sea, a fly-away towards an installation or shipping, and injury on deck, and it should link to the vessel's and installation's own emergency arrangements. Agree with the client who owns the imagery and data, where it is stored and what may be shown publicly.

What a consultant does, and what to ask before hiring

A consultant can work out whether a job fits PDRA01 or needs a UK SORA application, write launch and recovery procedures for vessels, fit your documents to a duty holder's permit-to-work and helicopter procedures, and prepare requests to harbour masters. They cannot grant an authorization, a permit or harbour permission, or promise an outcome: the CAA, the duty holder or the harbour authority decides. Consultants listed on DOC are vetted (identity, legal entity, sanctions screening and professional indemnity insurance), and regulator experience is shown as verified only where it has been evidenced.

  • Have you prepared UK SORA applications for flying from vessels or over water?
  • Have you written procedures that fit an offshore duty holder's permit-to-work system?
  • How would you handle helicopter movements at an installation with an active helideck?
  • What wind and sea state limits would you set for our aircraft, and how would we test them?

Common mistakes

On maritime jobs, these are the problems that come up most:

  • Assuming PDRA01 covers flying from a vessel that may have to change course
  • Arranging the aviation authorization but not the duty holder's permit or the harbour master's permission
  • Taking a launch vessel into a platform's 500-meter safety zone without consent
  • Having no agreed stop procedure for helicopter movements
  • Setting no wind or sea state limits for recovery to a moving deck

Common questions

Can I fly a drone from a moving boat in the UK?

Sometimes. Under PDRA01 the pilot must not fly while operating any moving vehicle, but may fly as a passenger if the vessel's speed and stability let them keep visual line of sight and control at all times. If the vessel may need to move off the drone's flight path so that line of sight is lost, the CAA says the operation is outside PDRA01 and a UK SORA-based authorization is needed.

Does CAP 437 cover drones near helidecks?

Not in detail. CAP 437 is the CAA's standard for offshore helicopter landing areas. It mentions drones only once, as an option alongside a standby vessel for an external inspection in its protocol for flights to a normally unmanned installation in an abnormal state. How drone flights stop for helicopter movements is agreed locally with the installation and the helicopter operator.

Do I need permission to fly near an oil or gas platform?

You need the right aviation permission and the duty holder's agreement. The duty holder must run a written permit-to-work system for work where the risk calls for it, and decides whether a drone flight needs a permit. Most installations above the sea also have a 500-meter safety zone, and no vessel may enter it except under an order, regulations or a consent from HSE.

Do ports and harbours have their own drone rules?

Many do. Harbour authorities can control drone flights through general directions or byelaws, on top of CAA rules. Weymouth Harbour's General Directions 2024, for example, require the Harbour Master's prior written permission to fly within or over the harbour, and any conditions attached must be followed. Requirements and notice periods differ, so check with the harbour master before you plan the job.

Can I fly from a moving vessel in the US?

Under 14 CFR 107.25, a small drone may not be flown from a moving water-borne vehicle unless it is flown over a sparsely populated area and is not carrying another person's property for compensation or hire. Section 107.25 is one of the Part 107 rules the FAA can waive, so operations outside those limits need a waiver, applied for through the FAA's Aviation Safety Hub.