Joint Venture to Develop Delivery Drones For Offshore Wind Farm Sector

Marco Polo Marine, a reputable regional integrated marine logistics company, and F-drones, a Singapore-based company developing large-scale autonomous delivery drones, are pleased to announce the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to co-develop the world’s first large-scale, electric aerial delivery drones for offshore wind farms.

The use of the co-developed delivery drones is expected to result in more than 90% cost savings, and is four times faster than traditional means, which rely mostly on boats and, occasionally, helicopters as the key modes of transport. The partnership will see both companies co-develop drones customized for deployment in Asia-Pacific, to send supplies and critical items to offshore wind installations. F-drones, which has been developing drones to deliver cargoes of up to 100kg over 100km, will offer its advanced drone technology expertise, while Marco Polo Marine will provide strong technical operating and commercial capabilities in the offshore wind sector.

Lowering the Carbon Footprint with Drones

As the offshore maritime industry transitions to a lower carbon footprint, using drones has an added environmental benefit – a significant reduction in fuel consumption can be achieved when conducting remote delivery of packages of up to 100kg and emergency deliveries to vessels. Utilizing drones will result in sharply lower carbon dioxide equivalent (CO₂e) emissions – which include CO₂ and other greenhouse gases – of up to 99%, as compared to sending a supply boat or Crew Transfer Vessel (CTV) for 100kg loads over 100km to offshore wind farms.

Sean Lee, CEO of Marco Polo Marine, commented: “It gives us great pleasure to unveil this collaboration with F-drones. The partnership is an example of different industry players with aligned values coming together to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, which is in line with global and Singapore government initiatives. By enabling efficient and sustainable maritime logistics, this collaboration will boost the offshore maritime industry as it transitions to fuels with a lower or minimal carbon footprint.”

Nicolas Ang, CEO of F-drones, added: “The world’s energy transition not only requires building renewable energy assets, but also the ability to service them sustainably. Our partnership with Marco Polo Marine is a case in point, which has the potential to transform the future of logistics across offshore wind farms globally.”