Unmanned Surface Vehicles in Maritime Critical Infrastructure Protection Applications — LNG Terminal in Świnoujście

In order to first Baltic LNG terminal in Świnoujście construction, issues concerning maritime critical infrastructure protection as a part of Maritime Security appeared. With the increasing natural gas demand LNG terminal in Świnoujście could be a possible terrorist attack target as well as the LNG carriers crossing the choke point of Baltic Straits and sailing through the littoral waters of Polish and other Baltic counties coastline. Experts do not fully agree on possible effects and results of successful terrorist assault on LNG carrier at sea nor at harbor. Unmanned platforms begin to play prominent role in military, oceanography or academic applications. With the announcement of reducing the hazard for deck operators especially in high-risk regions, it is predicted that unmanned platforms will play crucial role in Maritime Security systems in the nearest future. This paper discusses the design of the USV dedicated to LNG terminal protection tasks introduces potential equipment options and missions scenarios of first Polish unmanned platform ‘Edredon’.