Maersk to Use Drones to Resupply its Fleet of Tankers

 

"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. The roughly 22-pound cargo in the next test would serve as a key proof of concept for getting more important gear to remote ships. That weight would cover a lot of the important equipment deliveries it makes to ships.

 

According to a IDG News Service report, the test would help in highlighting a key usage for Maersk, that of resupplying its fleet of tankers, oil platforms, container ships and other craft. 

 

It would serve as a key proof of concept for getting important gear to remote ships. That 10-kg weight would cover a lot of the important equipment deliveries it makes to ships.

 

The benefits of using drones to resupply ships are obvious enough. If it works, Maersk will be able to save massively on the costs of sending out an entire resupply ship to carry equipment to a tanker that’s far out to sea. This happens more than one might think, because each country has its own regulations about protecting volatile cargoes.