Marine Drone Inspection Services | DJM Aerial Solutions

Marine Drone Inspection Services

DJM Aerial Solutions provides specialist marine drone inspection services to vessel operators, ship management companies, classification societies, port operators, and offshore asset owners across the UK and Europe. Our CAA-certified team deploys cutting-edge drone technology to inspect confined marine assets — including scrubber towers, exhaust gas cleaning systems, bulk storage tanks, cargo holds, ballast tanks, void spaces, and structural elements — safely, rapidly, and without the need for manned confined space entry.

Uniquely, our Flyability Elios 3 platform integrates a dedicated ultrasonic thickness (UT) measurement device, enabling quantitative wall thickness data to be captured remotely during the same inspection deployment — delivering the structural integrity data that classification societies and asset owners need to make informed fitness-for-service decisions.

Our team brings something that no drone technology alone can provide: over 12 years of direct marine industry experience across oil, gas, and offshore class vessel environments. We understand the regulatory frameworks, classification society requirements, permit-to-work systems, and operational pressures of the marine industry from the inside — and that knowledge underpins every inspection we deliver.

[Request a Marine Inspection Quote] | [Call 01642 903779]

Trusted by the Marine Industry

DJM Aerial Solutions has delivered specialist drone inspection services aboard cruise liners, cargo vessels, and marine infrastructure across the UK and Europe. Our most high-profile project to date involved the internal inspection of scrubber tower assemblies aboard the Queen Mary 2 — one of the world’s most recognisable ocean liners — identifying critical circumferential and longitudinal weld failures within the exhaust gas cleaning system. When the vessel subsequently experienced significant structural deterioration at sea, forcing an early return to port, DJM Aerial Solutions was recalled to support emergency investigation activities alongside Lloyd’s Register Classification Society.

That level of trust from a leading classification society is not given lightly — and it speaks directly to the quality, reliability, and technical rigour of our marine inspection services.

[Read the Queen Mary 2 Case Study →]

The Challenge of Marine Asset Inspection

Inspecting assets aboard vessels and offshore installations presents a unique set of challenges that set marine inspection apart from conventional industrial environments:

Limited Port Windows Cruise liners, cargo vessels, and offshore support ships spend the majority of their operational lives at sea. Time alongside in port is limited and expensive — meaning inspections must be completed rapidly and efficiently within tight maintenance windows.

Complex Confined Environments Scrubber towers, ballast tanks, cargo holds, void spaces, and exhaust ducting are among the most challenging confined spaces in any industry. They are dark, enclosed, often irregularly shaped, and inaccessible to conventional inspection equipment.

Aggressive Operating Environments Marine assets operate in some of the most corrosive environments on earth. Exposure to saltwater, acidic exhaust condensates, thermal cycling, vibration, and chemical wash systems accelerates deterioration of structural welds, shell plating, and internal components — making accurate, timely inspection critical to vessel safety and regulatory compliance.

Regulatory Requirements Vessel operators must comply with classification society requirements, ISM Code obligations, and MARPOL regulations governing exhaust gas cleaning systems. Accurate, documented inspection data is essential to demonstrating compliance and maintaining class certification.

Safety of Personnel Confined space entry aboard a vessel carries significant risk — particularly in exhaust systems, ballast tanks, and void spaces where atmospheric hazards, restricted access, and limited rescue capability combine to create a high-risk working environment.

DJM Aerial Solutions addresses every one of these challenges through the deployment of specialist confined space drone technology, enabling comprehensive internal inspection without personnel entry, within the tightest of port turnaround windows.

Our Marine Drone Inspection Services

Bulk Storage Tank Drone Inspection with Ultrasonic Thickness Measurement Bulk storage tanks — whether petroleum, chemical, or ballast — present some of the most hazardous and access-restricted inspection environments in the marine industry. Accumulated sludge, hydrocarbon residues, atmospheric hazards, and restricted access points make manned entry costly, time-consuming, and high-risk. Our Elios 3 platform is deployed internally through existing hatches and manholes, capturing comprehensive visual data of shell plating, floor plates, roof structures, weld seams, and support frames — without personnel entry.

Critically, the Elios 3 integrates a dedicated ultrasonic thickness (UT) measurement device, enabling remote wall thickness readings to be taken at specific locations of interest identified during the visual inspection — all within a single deployment. This means we can deliver not just visual evidence of corrosion or coating breakdown, but quantitative thickness data that directly supports fitness-for-service assessment, remaining life calculations, and classification society survey requirements under RNI, Lloyd’s Register, DNV, Bureau Veritas, and API standards. For tank operators and vessel owners, this combination of visual and UT data in a single confined space entry-free deployment represents a step change in inspection efficiency, safety, and data quality.

Scrubber Tower & EGCS Drone Inspection Internal inspection of exhaust gas cleaning system (EGCS) scrubber towers, including assessment of circumferential and longitudinal weld integrity, shell plating condition, corrosion mapping, internal support structures, and ducting interfaces. Our Elios 3 platform navigates complex scrubber geometries to deliver comprehensive visual data without confined space entry.

Exhaust Duct & Stack Drone Inspection Inspection of exhaust ducting, uptakes, and stack systems for evidence of corrosion, structural degradation, refractory failure, weld defects, and material loss — capturing detailed imagery in environments where traditional inspection methods are impractical.

Cargo Hold Drone Inspection Rapid, comprehensive inspection of cargo hold internal surfaces, frames, longitudinals, hopper tanks, and structural welds — delivering detailed condition data to support maintenance planning and class survey requirements.

Ballast Tank Drone Inspection Internal inspection of ballast tanks and void spaces for corrosion mapping, coating condition assessment, structural defect identification, and anode condition monitoring. Where thickness measurement is required at areas of identified corrosion, our integrated UT capability delivers quantitative data in the same deployment — eliminating the significant safety risks associated with manned ballast tank entry.

Marine Thermal Inspection Radiometric thermal imaging of marine electrical systems, machinery spaces, switchboards, motors, generators, and heat-producing assets — identifying thermal anomalies and potential failure points before they develop into critical defects.

Emergency Damage Investigation Rapid deployment for emergency structural assessment following damage, unexpected deterioration, or operational incidents — providing classification societies, vessel owners, and P&I clubs with accurate, documented visual evidence to support investigation and repair planning.

Port & Marine Infrastructure Inspection Drone inspection of jetties, berths, dock structures, port cranes, fender systems, and quayside infrastructure — delivering structural condition data without the need for boat access, rope access, or extensive scaffolding.

Ultrasonic Thickness Measurement — A Step Change in Marine Inspection

One of the most significant limitations of conventional drone inspection in the marine sector has historically been the inability to capture quantitative structural data. Visual inspection alone can identify surface corrosion, coating breakdown, and weld defects — but it cannot tell you how much wall thickness remains, or whether a corroded section of shell plating remains within class-acceptable limits.

The Flyability Elios 3 changes this. Equipped with a dedicated ultrasonic thickness (UT) measurement device, our platform is capable of capturing remote wall thickness readings at specific locations — all without any personnel entering the confined space. During an inspection, our pilot and inspection engineer identify areas of concern in real time. The UT device is then targeted at those specific locations to capture thickness readings, which are recorded, referenced against the vessel’s original scantlings, and included in the inspection report alongside the visual evidence.

For classification societies, this means drone inspection can now support the quantitative structural assessment requirements that class surveys demand — not just provide supplementary visual data. For vessel owners and operators, it means a single confined space entry-free deployment can deliver both the visual and dimensional data needed to make informed, defensible asset management decisions. This capability is directly applicable to scrubber tower shell plating, ballast tank frames and plating, cargo hold structural members, storage tank floors and roofs, and exhaust ducting — anywhere that corrosion-driven wall loss is a structural integrity concern.

The DJM Marine Inspection Process

1. Project Scoping We work with vessel operators, ship managers, classification societies, and port superintendents to define the inspection scope, access requirements, reporting format, and programme — ensuring the inspection is fully planned before mobilisation.

2. Rapid Mobilisation Our team mobilises quickly to ports and dry docks across the UK and Europe, working within your vessel’s available port window to deliver the inspection on time and within programme.

3. Drone Deployment Our Flyability Elios 3 confined space drone is deployed through existing access points — manholes, handholes, inspection hatches — and navigated throughout the internal space, capturing continuous high-definition video and still imagery of all accessible surfaces.

4. Real-Time Data Review Our pilot and inspection engineer review captured imagery in real time during the deployment, enabling immediate identification of areas of concern and targeted re-inspection where required.

5. Detailed Reporting Following the inspection, we produce a comprehensive written report including annotated high-resolution imagery, video footage, defect mapping, and a clear summary of findings — formatted to support your engineering, maintenance, and classification society requirements.

6. Ongoing Support Where findings require further investigation, emergency recall, or follow-up inspection, our team is available to remobilise rapidly — as demonstrated by our Queen Mary 2 emergency investigation alongside Lloyd’s Register.

Vessels & Assets We Inspect

Our marine drone inspection services are applicable across a wide range of vessel types and marine assets:

• Cruise liners and passenger vessels
• Cargo vessels and bulk carriers
• Tankers and chemical carriers
• Offshore supply vessels and support ships
• Ferries and RoRo vessels
• Dredgers and specialist vessels
• Floating production and storage units (FPSOs)
• Offshore platforms and jack-up rigs
• Port and harbour infrastructure

Led by Marine Industry Veterans

What truly sets DJM Aerial Solutions apart in the marine inspection sector is not just the technology we deploy — it is the marine industry knowledge and experience that guides every inspection we carry out.

Our team brings over 12 years of direct hands-on experience working within marine oil, gas, and offshore class vessel environments. That experience encompasses working within the strict regulatory frameworks that govern commercial vessel operations — including ISM Code compliance, classification society survey requirements, MARPOL obligations, and the permit-to-work and safety management systems that major vessel operators and offshore asset owners demand.

This background means that when we communicate with a chief engineer, a classification society surveyor, a port superintendent, or a ship management company, we speak their language. We understand what data they need, in what format, and why. We understand the operational pressures of port turnaround windows, the consequences of unplanned downtime, and the regulatory significance of the findings we report. And we understand the environments we are working in — the atmospheric hazards, the access constraints, the ATEX considerations, and the safety-critical nature of the assets we inspect.

No amount of drone technology can substitute for that knowledge — and very few drone inspection operators in the UK can offer it. At DJM Aerial Solutions, it is built into every marine project we deliver.

Why Choose DJM Aerial Solutions for Marine Inspection?

Proven Queen Mary 2 Pedigree Our involvement in the Queen Mary 2 scrubber tower inspection — and subsequent emergency investigation alongside Lloyd’s Register — places DJM Aerial Solutions in a very small group of drone inspection operators with genuine, documented capability on major commercial vessels.

12 Years of Marine Industry Experience Our team’s direct experience across oil, gas, and offshore class vessel environments means we understand the regulatory frameworks, operational pressures, and technical requirements of marine inspection from the inside. We speak the language of classification surveyors, chief engineers, and ship managers — and we deliver inspection outputs to match.

Ultrasonic Thickness Measurement Capability Unlike visual-only drone inspection, our Elios 3 platform integrates a dedicated UT measurement device — enabling remote wall thickness readings to be captured during the same deployment. This delivers the quantitative structural data needed for fitness-for-service assessment and classification society survey support, without any personnel entering the confined space.

Classification Society Experience We have worked directly alongside Lloyd’s Register Classification Society, and our inspection outputs are produced to the standard required to support class survey activities, emergency investigations, and asset integrity documentation across RNI, Lloyd’s Register, DNV, Bureau Veritas, and API frameworks.

Confined Space Specialists Marine confined spaces are among the most challenging inspection environments in any industry. Our team’s extensive experience across industrial tanks, boilers, vessels, and ducting — combined with our Elios 3 platform — makes us uniquely well-placed to handle the complexity of marine confined space inspection.

Flyability Elios 3 Platform The Elios 3 is widely regarded as the world’s leading confined space inspection drone. Its collision-tolerant design, powerful lighting, high-definition camera system, integrated UT device, and ability to operate without GPS make it ideally suited to the dark, irregular, and GPS-denied interiors of marine assets.

Rapid Mobilisation Across the UK & Europe We have operational experience in ports across the UK and Europe, including Southampton and ports in Spain, and can mobilise rapidly to support planned maintenance windows or emergency situations.

Comprehensive, Documented Reporting Our inspection reports are produced to engineering standard, with annotated imagery, defect mapping, UT thickness data, and clear findings summaries — providing vessel owners, classification societies, P&I clubs, and maintenance teams with the documented evidence they need.

No Confined Space Entry Required Every marine inspection we deliver eliminates the need for manned confined space entry — significantly reducing personnel risk, simplifying the permit-to-work process, and accelerating the overall inspection programme.

Marine Inspection vs Traditional Methods

Regulatory & Classification Society Alignment

Marine drone inspection outputs from DJM Aerial Solutions are designed to support:

• Lloyd’s Register survey and class requirements
• DNV condition monitoring and class survey activities
• Bureau Veritas inspection and certification programmes
• RNI (RINA) classification and survey requirements
• API tank inspection standards (API 653, API 510)
• MARPOL Annex VI EGCS condition documentation
• ISM Code planned maintenance system records
• P&I Club incident investigation and damage assessment

We work with vessel operators, ship managers, and classification surveyors to ensure our reporting format meets the specific documentation requirements of your regulatory and classification framework.

Get in Touch

If you have a vessel inspection, scrubber survey, cargo hold assessment, or marine infrastructure project anywhere in the UK or Europe, contact the DJM Aerial Solutions marine inspection team today.

📞 +44 (0) 1642 903779 📧 info@djm-aerial.com 📍 Acklam Hall, Hall Drive, Acklam, Middlesbrough, TS5 7DY

[Request a Marine Inspection Quote →]

DJM Aerial Solutions provides specialist marine drone inspection services across the UK and Europe. Contact us to discuss your vessel, offshore asset, or port infrastructure inspection requirements.

Ready to Elevate Your Asset Management?

Whether you’re overseeing infrastructure, manufacturing plants, or marine assets, our drone services offer unmatched accuracy, speed, and safety.

Contact DJM Aerial Solutions today to explore how our team can elevate your inspection and surveying projects.