The Port of Rotterdam recently witnessed the first-ever drone delivery in the Netherlands to a vessel with the aerial transport of a parts consignment to Allseas’ Pioneering Spirit, the biggest vessel in the world.
Europe's biggest seaport said the pilot project, which was set up by Dutch Drone Delta, Allseas and the Port of Rotterdam Authority, is intended to determine whether and how drone deliveries could increase transport efficiency in the port of Rotterdam.
It noted that the airspace over the port area will be safely managed under the slogan ‘Rotterdam, the safest port to fly’, allowing parties to take optimal advantage of new technologies to make the port safer, smarter and more efficient.
Drone evolution
"The Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) industry is going through an exciting evolution, and the sector is primed for further growth. Drone development is in full swing and this technology can have a major impact on traffic and transport," the Port said in its statement.
It noted that new European regulations have cleared the way for such new applications and ultimately, this may even include autonomous unmanned freight and passenger transport.
While the test drone delivery was still directly monitored by human observers, the Port explained that in the near future, it will be handled entirely beyond the pilot’s physical line of sight.
"The next few years will be devoted to the phased preparation of airspace and drone technology. The recent delivery constitutes a major first step in this process since it involved the delivery of an actual package following a long-distance flight by the UAV," Port of Rotterdam added.
More efficient, advanced port
Europe's biggest seaport said utilising new technologies allow it to make the port smarter, more streamlined, more efficient and safer.
"The current pilot project is a prime example: it makes a significant contribution to more efficient transport in general; and in due time, it will specifically help to reduce the pressure on our road network," the Port said.
Drone deployment in the port area
Stephan van Vuren, one of the people behind the Dutch Drone Delta initiative said “the sky’s the limit when it comes to using drones in the port area" — enumerating uses such as incident prevention and control; water pollution; firefighting; monitoring port operations or damage.
It could also be utilized for systems and bridge inspections, construction and maintenance of infrastructure, and deliveries to ships and oil rigs, to the rapid medical transport of blood and human organs.
"In the longer term, we may even be seeing heavy freight deliveries and passenger transport! This pilot project in the port of Rotterdam has allowed us to directly demonstrate the added value of drone technology in a complex environment,” Vuren added.
Other opportunities for drone delivery
According to Allseas PR manager Jeroen Hagelstein, the offshore industry could also benefit from this new delivery option.
“As a provider of technical services to the offshore industry, we are continuously pushing the existing technical boundaries. Pioneering Spirit is an example. With this pilot, we want to test whether drones could be an effective means to quickly and efficiently deliver materials to our vessels," said Allseas PR manager Jeroen Hagelstein.
"Drone delivery can be of added value when we are in urgent need of parts which we can’t repair ourselves – for example, network switches or computer chips,” he added.
