Package delivery offshore

Challenge

In offshore wind turbine inspections and maintenance, technicians often bring spare parts and tools when transferring from a vessel to a turbine. However, there are instances where additional spare parts, smaller electrical components, or specific tools are required.

Currently, such situations force technicians to descend the turbine, collecting equipment delivered by the service vessel or a transfer boat. This process incurs extra time and costs on crews and vessels, additional fuel expenses, as well as time wastage and security risks for turbine technicians.

Solution

The solution is to employ a drone for transporting equipment and spare parts between two points – a service vessel and a wind turbine – following an adjustable route. We are currently developing an offshore package delivery system where packages will be autonomously transported from a vessel to the nearest wind turbine. The vessel-wind-turbine concept will cover a distance of 4 km with a 5 kg payload.

The potential reduction in costs is directly linked to the typical downtime of a turbine, the time a technician spends on obtaining spare parts or additional tools, as well as the costs of crew and gasoline for the service vessel, which may, in some cases, need to return to the wind turbine to transport equipment. The offshore package delivery system could optimize processes and contribute to making the operation of an offshore wind farm more efficient.

By considering scenarios where Upteko’s offshore package delivery system replaces crew transfer/service vessels (CTVs) and helicopters, potential savings are estimated to be between 1.717.279 and 5.480.048 Euros per year. These calculations are based on standard prices, downtime, and the number of technicians for a typical assignment, comparing them with the expected price and downtime for using the drone-based transport system.