Singapore wants to set up a drone port for the delivery of ship supplies and will launch a call for proposals (CFP) later this year. The move was announced at Singapore Maritime Week.
“The CFP will act as a pathfinder for public agencies and private companies to develop a concept of operations for drones that is suited to Singapore’s operating environment as a busy hub port,” said senior minister of state for finance and transport Chee Hong Tat.
Singapore has been trialing drone deliveries for quite some time. In 2020, F-drones was the first company in Singapore to receive authorisation from the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore to conduct beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) drone deliveries to ships in Singapore, with Eastern Pacific Shipping as its first paying customer. The company then teamed up with offshore vessel owner and operator Marco Polo Marine to co-develop what are claimed to be the world’s first large-scale, electric aerial delivery drones for offshore wind farms.
Also, Singapore’s sole multipurpose port, Jurong, has joined forces with advanced air mobility (AAM) infrastructure developer and drone operator Skyports to explore the development of ship-to-shore infrastructure.
