After the Sør-West police district started the investigation into drone activity outside offshore installations in the North Sea, many reports of new sightings have come in. – The number of reported cases is significantly greater than what appears in the media. So far, we have interviewed about 30 people who believe they have observed drones, says Amund Revheim, who is head of the North Sea and environment section in the Sør-West police district. Amund Revheim, head of the North Sea and environment section in the South-West police district. Photo: Sindre Kirkaas Normann / news Revheim confirms to news that the Norwegian Armed Forces are involved in the investigation. The defense is proceeding with the observations the police believe are interesting. – We don’t have patrol cars that we can send out to, for example, Johan Sverdrup or the Trollfield. We have to play on the good friends we have, and that also applies when we have to make sense of the information we gather, says Revheim. He says that their investigation is primarily about checking the messages that have come in. This check has shown that some of the observations are probably not drones, but, for example, Jupiter which shone a little extra brightly, or light from a vessel far away. The Norwegian Defense Forces are now visibly present at the oil and gas installations in the North Sea after observations of unknown drones in several places. The police have several theories about the drones. In practice, this means that the police send information to the Norwegian Armed Forces, which helps the police with analyzes and answers to questions. But it is the police who have police authority on the shelf. So far, no one is a suspect. The police are still thinking about what possible motives could be, if it turns out that the observations are of drones. One of the police’s theories is that the motive may be to spread fear. – If this turns out to be drones to an extensive extent, it has been made so openly that it is natural to think in that direction. That the motive may be to create insecurity and uncertainty about what this actually is, says Revheim. Therefore, he says that the police are aware of their role, and do not want to exaggerate the situation. – It is certainly something we are aware of, and it has also affected how we refer to these events in the media. We do not want to contribute to spreading insecurity and fear around these observations. Also interested in other observations His department is working to investigate drone activity against breaches of the Petroleum Act. Therefore, their focus is on the offshore observations. Here, it is a breach of the law if drones are flown closer to the installation than the safety zone of 500 metres. Certain petroleum facilities on land also have such a safety zone. Nevertheless, Revheim says that the police are interested in the observations made at land plants, but these observations have until now gone more into the police’s intelligence work.
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The police confirm cooperation with the Norwegian Armed Forces in the drone investigation – news Rogaland – Local news, TV and radio
