Cargo Business Newswire

Friday, March 28, 2014

Shipping line uses drones to report ice conditions (video)

Montreal shipping company Fednav uses unmanned air vehicles to gauge the ice-covered water ahead for problems.

Fednav said it was the first shipping company to use the navigational drones, which help capture ice features like ridges and fractures, giving captains a more realistic picture of local conditions.

"The use of UAVs is proving to be extremely beneficial to identify many ice features that should be avoided ahead of the vessel, as well as identifying open water leads to improve voyage efficiency," Thomas Paterson, a senior vice-president with Fednav, said in a release.

For more of the Toronto Sun story and video: torontosun.com