Wilhelmsen Marine Products division is aiming to deliver 3D printed spare parts to ships by drones under a new agreement with Singapore’s F-drones , according to seatrade-maritime.com.
Wilhelmsen has inked an MOU with F-drones, which is developing high capacity unmanned craft and the only provider currently authorised by the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) to execute drone deliveries Beyond-Visual-Line-of-Sight (BVLOS) to vessels at anchorage.
Currently F-drones has a system capable of carrying 5kg payloads over 50 km, but has the ambition to carry 100 kg to vessels at a distance of 100 km away.
Hakon Ellekjaer, head of venture, 3D Printing, Wilhelmsen said, “Exploring safe, reliable and inexpensive alternatives for last mile delivery of our 3D printed parts to our customers is key for us moving forward. F-Drones is actively developing a solution and their ambitions are very much aligned with our own, to disrupt the existing supply chain and offer a service that is faster, cheaper and greener.”
Wilhelmsen currently has six early adopter owners and managers signed up to its 3D printed spare parts programme. Yeshwanth Reddy, co-founder of F-drones, said: “We are excited to be working together with Wilhelmsen’s 3D printing venture, which is at the forefront of commercialising on-demand manufacturing for the maritime industry.
“Its capability can provide a large variety of parts in different shapes, sizes, and materials. With our drones that can carry much bigger items over longer distances, we can catalyse the adoption of on-demand printing of parts for the maritime industry”.
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