Maersk Announces First Drone-Vessel Delivery

In order to assess the efficiency of the use of drones in the global supply chain, Maersk Tankers has reportedly finished its first drone delivery to a vessel at sea near Kalundbord, Denmark, according to gCaptain. 

Read: Drones, A Shipbuilding Necessity?

Markus Kuhn, Supply Chain Manager at Maersk, said, “Costs for a barge are [on] average US$1,000 and can easily go up to $3,000 or more.

“With the current pay-load of drones, on average a vessel has three cases per year in which the barge transport could be substituted by a drone – meaning a potential avoidance of barge costs of $3000 – 9000 per vessel per year.

“If you consider that Maersk Tankers has around 100 vessels, the savings potentially could be substantial.”

PTI previously reported that technologies such as drones and hyperloop cargo transport could impact major ports as cargo handlers adopt this method to reach their customers on an end-to end basis.

DP World has been a particular pioneer in this area.

Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, Chairman and CEO of DP World, previously stated that the technologies that would drive the future of trade include robotics and automation, autonomous vehicles, the internet of things and big data, and simulation.

PTI is to hold the inaugural Terminal Automation & Training Conference in London on June 8, 2016 reviewing the latest automation trends in the industry. You can review that conference by following this link.