Skyports adds CTM services to maritime drone delivery activities

The UK’s Skyports Drone Services has added a new activity to its ship-to-shore aerial activities with the introduction Cash-to-Master (CTM) operations, shuttling reserves of money between anchored and harbored vessels and officials on the ground.

Skyports Drone Services immediately launched its CTM offer in both South Korea and Singapore after successfully conducting trials securely transporting funds between the Asian city-state and offshore ships. The activity – which is typically carried out by boat – provides cash needed for payroll disbursal to crew members, and for use in onboard economies. It also repatriates any excess amounts accumulating on vessels for safer storage in company vaults ashore.

Read: Skyports to run Orkney’s interisland drone delivery for Royal Mail

Skyports’ test run of CTM drone deliveries ran from last January to April in partnership with Pacific Carriers Limited. 

Demonstration of the secure, rapid, and comparatively inexpensive aerial shuttles was so conclusive that the London-based UAV startup decided to immediately integrate CTM into its other ship-to-shore activities. Those include on-demand cargo deliveries for packages up to 10 kg, and express transport of analysis samples of bunker, water, and lubricant oil taken from vessels.

Adding CTM to its operational mix, says Skyports Drone Services Asia-Pacific general manager, Sanjay Suresh, allows the company to both broaden its range of activities, and demonstrate their qualitative advantages through the safely delivery of, by definition, the world’s most valuable payload – money.

“The introduction of Cash-to-Master services is a significant milestone for us and the industry,” said Suresh. “Given the sensitive nature of the cargo, there is an even greater need to design a process that ensures a secure chain of custody, while still making the service a light-touch and easily integrated process. All our work is underpinned by the commitment to realizing greater connectivity, safety, and efficiency standards through drone technology, and we are excited to be bringing this much-needed service to our customers in Singapore, Korea, and other regions in time to come.”

Skyports says its CTM work required adaptation and reinforcement of aspects of its more common drone delivery work – even for ship-to-shore clients. 

Included in those were the digitalization of the process from the point of request to completion through its order management system, and creation of a mandatory user authentication using a one-time code to unlock the drone’s payload bay after it lands on the designated vessel. 

That, Skyports says, ensures greater efficiency and secure tracking of cash payloads along their entire route, while also reinforcing safety levels during delivery missions by eliminating longer transportation by boat and manual embarkation.

Read: Skyports in cargo drone delivery infrastructure deal with Singapore’s Jurong Port

Addition of CTM marks another step in Skyports’ activities in Singapore and South Korea. The company has gradually extended its operations in both countries, and most recently introduced ship-to-shore drone delivery atop other kinds of diversified services. It has also been involved in the conception and construction of both UAV fleet terminals and air taxi infrastructure for future advanced air mobility aircraft.