Maersk to Use Drones to Resupply its Fleet of Tankers
Global shipping and logistics firm Maersk is looking at ways to use drones for delivering equipment to ships and is planning to conduct a test later this year, after using the technology in January for delivering cookies to a tanker at sea, says a report in PTI. "The company is evaluating ways to expand its use of drones and plans a bigger test later this year," said Markus Kuhn, a supply chain manager at Maersk. In January, the company made a drone fly 250 meters from one of its barges to a tanker and drop off a batch of cookies. It's now looking for a drone-making partner for a test flight that would haul a 10-kilogram package for 10 kilometers. That test would illustrate a key use case for Maersk, that of resupplying its fleet of tankers, oil platforms, container ships and other craft.
Maersk Delivers Cookies to a Tanker...by Drone
Drones could cut time and costs for deliveries and inspections across the Maersk Group – but they must be reliable and absolutely safe. Maersk Tankers is testing delivery to vessels on drones that have been certified for explosive environments. Markus Kuhn peers out through the fog and spots the Maersk Edgar waiting across the chilly Danish waters. Drone operator Thierry Bauer, dressed against the winter cold after a long journey from his centre of operations in Southern France, carefully attaches the cargo of Maersk cookies to its transport.