International. AkzoNobel, the tanker Barrier Group and DroneOps seek to improve safety in the naval industry by joining forces to develop a drone capable of remotely inspecting enclosed spaces and ballast water tanks.
The project will use advanced virtual reality technology to offer safer and more accurate assessments of ballast water tanks, offshore wind farms and other enclosed or hard-to-reach spaces to ships and marine structures, including coating and corrosion inspections.
Traditionally, inspections are performed by crew, inspectors or independent inspectors, a potentially dangerous activity that represents one of the most common causes of work-related deaths in the industry.
The coating manufacturer explains that by replacing human inspections with a drone, routine maintenance can be monitored remotely and in real time by office staff, with instant information available to the vessel or to the superintendent of the structure at sea. This in turn will reduce costs, increase efficiency and significantly reduce the risk to human life during essential maintenance.
AkzoNobel is already using innovative drone technology. The company is currently testing the use of drones in Australia to inspect sites in remote locations where access is limited and movement of heavy equipment is difficult.
