MARITIME AND PORT AUTHORITY OF SINGAPORE (MPA) MAKES SINGAPORE'S WATERS SAFER WITH REMOTELY PILOTED, AUTOMATED DRONES
Since September 2025, Skyports has been conducting routine Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) drone monitoring flights over Singapore’s waterways for the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA). Using automated Drone-in-Box technology, piloted from a centralised operations centre, MPA has been able to gain critical insights significantly faster compared to in-person drone patrols, enhancing maritime safety and operational efficiency.
Location: Singapore
Industry: Government & maritime services
Drone used: DJI Dock 2
The challenge
Keeping Singapore’s waters safe and clean, and enhancing maritime incident response
The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) is responsible for overseeing the maritime safety and environmental protection of Singapore’s port waters.
As one of the world’s busiest ports providing a wide range of marine services and activities, the Port of Singapore spans multiple terminals and connects to over 600 ports globally, handling thousands of vessel movements daily.
Maintaining the safety of port users and the environmental protection of the waters is of paramount importance to MPA, which is traditionally enforced through the use of patrol vessels. While drones have been used previously, this required pilots to be deployed onsite, with their effectiveness being limited by having to operate the drones within eyeline.
The solution
Automated remote drone surveillance with “Drone-in-a-Box” installations
To help improve access to aerial insights and optimise levels of response, MPA turned to Skyports to implement automated remote drone surveillance and monitoring solutions.
Skyports fitted multiple DJI Dock 2 “Drone-in-a-Box” installations across 3 waterfront locations, providing MPA with multiple access points from which drones can be quickly deployed.
The drones are then piloted and flown BVLOS by Skyports’ pilots from a single centralised remote operations centre, sitting within MPA’s premises. From there, Skyports’ pilots remotely launch and operate multiple drones, across multiple locations.
If there are any safety or environmental concerns spotted, Skyports trigger an alert to MPA’s enforcement team so they can respond quickly and efficiently. Loudspeakers fitted to the drone also allow MPA officers instant communication to port users.
The result
Faster access to aerial surveillance, keeping Singapore’s water safe and clean
Drones launched from the docks provide regular aerial surveillance that complement and extend MPA’s patrol craft response capabilities. Thus, MPA can better detect anomalies and provide timely interventions, when necessary. This enables MPA to inspect high-maritime traffic areas more frequently without increasing patrol craft resources.
With the automated drone installations, drones can be launched up to 80 per cent faster than before, when operators had to physically be on site. This enhances the overall response time and effectiveness of MPA’s incident management.
TESTIMONIAL
“Equipped with high-resolution cameras and video analytics, these drones provide real-time insights to our patrol craft and partner agencies. This allows us to do targeted checks and inspections and allows us to better optimise the use of our resources.”
Mr Chua Chun Kang
Deputy Director at MPA’s Maritime Space and Drone Capability Department