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JOME Engineering partners to pioneer AI-powered drone cargo tank inspections
Dubai-headquartered JOME Engineering, an established player in the ship repair and marine maintenance sector, has entered into a strategic partnership with Netherlands-based 3DTS, a specialist in advanced Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) technology, and SteelCorr, a pioneer in AI-driven corrosion management solutions. The collaboration forms a consortium dedicated to delivering high-precision, AI-powered drone inspections of shipboard cargo tanks, water ballast tanks and offshore assets, supporting safer and more efficient maritime inspection processes.
The partnership aims to tackle one of the maritime industry’s most persistent operational challenges: inspecting and maintaining enclosed or confined spaces. By combining JOME’s engineering expertise and ship repair capabilities, 3DTS’s specialised inspection drone technology and SteelCorr’s Digital Paint Report (DPR) artificial intelligence platform, the consortium aims to deliver a turnkey maritime inspection solution designed to improve inspection accuracy, enhance safety compliance and “drastically” reduce operational costs for vessel operators and offshore asset owners.
Traditional tank inspections are widely recognised as hazardous and resource-intensive, requiring personnel or surveyors to enter dark, slippery and oxygen-depleted confined spaces, often involving costly scaffolding installations or rope access procedures. Under the new memorandum of understanding (MoU), drones engineered specifically for complex internal marine environments will perform these inspections, enabling remote data capture, corrosion assessment and structural monitoring without the need for human entry.
”Safety is our non-negotiable priority,” said Mustafa Zaveri, Managing Director of JOME Engineering. “By deploying drones into water ballast tanks and other confined spaces, we eliminate the need for human entry into high-risk zones. This doesn’t just meet safety standards; it sets a new benchmark for the industry.”
