Wilson Sons launches drone trials

The initiative focuses on delivering and collecting documents for platform supply vessels and builds on earlier trials launched last year at the Port of Salvador in Bahia.

The latest testing programme is being conducted through the company’s shipping agency, with operational support from its offshore support base in Rio de Janeiro.

Trials have been under way since 6 April as part of a proof of concept phase designed to assess the technical feasibility of drone-based services in offshore environments.

“Wilson Sons’ use of delivery drones is a milestone in the port and logistics industry, as it makes operations even safer and more efficient, thereby supporting, through innovation and new technologies, the decarbonisation of the offshore energy industry and the sustainable development of Brazil,” said Rodrigo Lopes, operations manager at Wilson Sons’ shipping agency.

The uncrewed aerial vehicles are operated by Speedbird Aero, a specialist in drone logistics that has already completed more than one thousand offshore flights in Singapore. For operations in Brazil, the project has secured all required regulatory approvals, including from the National Civil Aviation Agency and the Department of Airspace Control.

The drones are designed to transport lightweight items of up to five kilograms, reducing the need for traditional vessel-based transfers. Flight times between the Rio base and offshore vessels average around nine minutes over a distance of nearly eight kilometres.

“This technology increases the efficiency of offshore operations and directly contributes to sustainability goals, strengthening our role in supporting the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by our partners,” added Edwardo Valverde, general manager of Offshore Support Base Operations at Wilson Sons.