Three companies in commercial trials to deliver goods to ships using drones

SINGAPORE - At least three companies are now being paid to use their unmanned drones to deliver small items like cash, 3D-printed shipping parts and fuel samples from Marina South to ships out at sea.

As at March, British outfit Skyports, home-grown technology giant ST Engineering and local start-up F-drones have received approval from the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) to begin recurring commercial trials out of the Maritime Drone Estate.

The designated pace near Marina South Pier was set up last year for maritime drone fliers to test their wares.

Industry players said these trials will give them a chance to demonstrate that such a mode of delivery is viable. The trials will also give them leverage to ask the authorities for more permanent and expansive infrastructure along the Greater Southern Waterfront, which is crucial for such deliveries to be properly scaled up.

"There is a massive market for this," said Mr Sanjay Suresh, Skyports' Asia-Pacific head of business development and operations. "The majority of ships that come to Singapore come into the anchorages, which are specific parking spots within our waters and they do their transactions there (rather than at our ports).

"The traditional means is to have a small launch boat that goes out for either crew change or for exchange of supplies. Drones minimise the time that (the supply transaction) takes."

Skyports began commercial trials in January, flying 14 return trips every week. It said such deliveries are already profitable for the company, and wants them to be fully commercialised by the end of the year.

ST Engineering is beginning a nine-month trial with Skyports and Japanese trading company Sumitomo two months from now, likely delivering goods up to 10kg over a 10km range, said Mr Teong Soo Soon, head of ST Engineering's unmanned air systems business unit.

He added that the trial is an important breakthrough. "To us, a commercial trial must be recurring to be useful (like this one), and not just a one-off delivery that takes payment," he said.

Local start-up F-drones started last year, after a one-year deal was inked with Eastern Pacific Shipping to do 200 deliveries. The drones can carry up to 5kg and fly 5km, delivering items like documents, vitamins and shipping spare parts.

Co-founder of F-drones Nicolas Ang said the experience has led to some new features incorporated into the drones so that they can deal with magnetic interference near vessels, and stay buoyant in the worst-case scenario that they end up in the water when delivering goods.

"F-drones and its customers have also helped each other understand the operational and safety considerations to ensure that vessel crew receiving the packages by drone are aware of the safety procedures," he added.

There are several benefits to using pre-programmed drones for deliveries when compared with traditional launch boats. As they are fully electric, they are more sustainable and will do away with the pollution that the boats emit.

But key to their relevance is the time saving. Drones can perform deliveries up to 90 per cent quicker, with return trips currently averaging just 15 minutes, compared with more than an hour for launch ships.

This could facilitate faster turnaround for ships in Singapore's anchorages, especially for those that just need a small shipping part. Many of them also come here for refuelling and drones can quickly deliver fuel samples for tests so waiting time before refuelling is reduced.

The companies hope that the current Maritime Drone Estate can be upgraded for their now increasingly extensive operations. Right now, the temporary structure is essentially a fenced-off training shed, with minimal amenities and no storage space.

For drones to deliver more goods, more launch pads, up from one currently; an outpost for the border authorities to check incoming and outgoing goods; and a hangar are needed, especially as heavier drones carrying heftier payloads of up to 100kg begin to be trialled.

Talks are ongoing with the authorities to set up a permanent maritime drone space in the Greater Southern Waterfront.

When asked by The Straits Times, the Maritime & Port Authority of Singapore did not give more details about its plans.

"The Maritime Drone Estate, at its current site, will continue to play a useful and important role to support the maritime industry's development of the maritime drone capability for the immediate future," it said.