Innovative Earth observation services in support of maritime litter detection and ship source pollution policies

Proposals must develop and demonstrate space sensors — assessing their operational limits and technical confidence — for a defined set of detection cases: oil-spill volume, thickness and type (including in sea ice), chemical products under MARPOL Annex II, sewage under Annex IV, garbage under Annex V, and exhaust-gas-cleaning residue and single-vessel methane emissions under Annex VI, plus identifying the likely polluting vessel from its own spectral signature. Detecting other MARPOL Annex VI emissions is optional and counts as a plus rather than a requirement. Proposals must also design AI methods that identify spills, sewage and garbage with enough timeliness, automation and confidence to avoid false alerts, consulting the yearly-updated Copernicus Security Services Strategic Research Agenda while doing so. Unlike many Horizon Europe topics, this one only requires addressing the gender dimension in the research content if it is actually relevant to the topic's objectives.