Cargo Business Newswire

Friday, April 4, 2014

Canadian shipping company uses drones to navigate Arctic (video)

Fednav, a Montreal-based shipping company, has pioneered using drones to help its freighters navigate the ice-laden waters of the Arctic.

Fednav says the unmanned aerial vehicles can send vital data back to the wheelhouse, giving ship captains the information they need to pilot their way through frozen waters and avoid icebergs.

"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," said Thomas Paterson, Fednav senior vice president in a statement. "In addition, the deployment of drones fitted with top-quality cameras, gives the ice navigator another useful aid when making important decisions while transiting heavy ice regimes, and in turn, improved safe navigation."

The Umiak I, a company icebreaker, recently used drones to explore ahead of the ship as it was sailing through the icy waters of the Labrador Coast off Canada, according to Fednav, which issued a video of the drones taking off from the deck and reporting back on the way ahead.

For more of the story and to view the video: foxnews.com