Skyports Drone Services introduces Cash-to-Master deliveries in Singapore and Korea
Skyports Drone Services has added Cash-to-Master (CTM) services to its ship-to-shore deliveries in Singapore and Korea at the annual Singapore Maritime Week event, with a live demonstration at the Maritime Drone Estate testbed.
Attendees included representatives from the Maritime Port Authority of Singapore, where attendees were shown the full flight process from the placement of a delivery slot by the vessel master, to the electric aircraft’s arrival back at shore.
A successful trial period of the CTM service was carried out between January and April 2023, during which time Skyports Drone Services worked with Pacific Carriers. Other services include express sample analysis lanes for bunker, water and lubricant oil samples, and on-demand cargo deliveries for packages up to 10 kg.
Sanjay Suresh, APAC general manager for Skyports Drone Services, said: “Given the sensitive nature of the cargo, there is an even greater need to design a process that ensures a secure chain of custody, while still making the service a light-touch and easily integrated process.
“All our work is underpinned by the commitment to realising greater connectivity, safety and efficiency standards through drone technology to our customers in Singapore, Korea and other regions in time to come.”
Implementing an end-to-end digital solution that is easily integrated into the protocols and workflows of end-users provides a service that is up to six times faster than traditional delivery methods, reducing the time from approximately four hours down to under an hour.
The process is digitised from the point of order to completion, together with mandatory user authentication and a one-time code to unlock the drone’s payload bay upon landing on the vessel.
Tan Kian Chai, senior general manager at Pacific Carriers added: “Our work with Skyports Drone Services has demonstrated the ability of drone delivery technology to create a safer environment for the vessels under our charge, while also safeguarding the security of cash deliveries.
“We have received positive feedback from our vessel masters and believe that the adoption of maritime drones reduces emissions, which underscores our decarbonisation efforts towards a greener environment.”
Soo Soon Teong, head of Unmanned Air Systems at ST Engineering, concluded: “Our work with Skyports in Singapore’s maritime sector has consistently unlocked new opportunities for enhancing safety and efficiency in the industry, and with each milestone we are seeing greater interest and acceptance from the end-users.”
The Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) deliveries are executed with ST Engineering’s DrN-35 DroNet drone. In August 2022, Skyports and ST Engineering further strengthened their ties with a USD3.13m investment at the close of Skyports’ Series B funding round.
