Sky-Futures, Keppel team up to provide drone services to offshore industry

Sky-Futures, a provider of drone inspection services for the oil and gas industry, is collaborating with Offshore Technology Development (OTD), a subsidiary of Keppel Offshore & Marine, to offer inspection services by drone to the global offshore and marine industry.

Sky-Futures said that the partnership allows it to offer its drone inspection services to Keppel’s client base in the industry, whilst Keppel provides its project management, engineering and repair expertise.

According to Sky-Futures, the partnership will provide clients in the Offshore and Marine sector with a step change in the way inspections – such as Dropped Object Surveys – can be performed on essential but hard to access parts of vessels.

Sky-Futures stated it uses software to automate analysis of the HD Video, still and thermal data its drones gather, helping to identify potential problems on an asset. Clients can access the images and analysis through a cloud-hosted portal, together with expert input from OTD’s experienced engineers, the company said.

James Harrison, co-founder and CEO, Sky-Futures, said, “Partnering with Keppel allows us to deliver an extended service for our clients in the global offshore and marine industry. Keppel’s ability to follow through and provide engineering support for any problems that may be found through our drone delivered inspections, means that offshore and marine companies can operate more safely and with less disruption of their operations whilst still reducing cost levels.”

Keppel spokesperson from OTD, said, “Through this partnership, we are able to further offer our customers value-added services in inspecting and assessing their vessels in a more expedient, cost-efficient and safer manner. These latest technologies will also equip our yard to provide enhanced services in the aftersales Inspection, Maintenance and Repair market.”