Remote Ship Inspection Drone vs Scaffold Cost & Downtime Tool

Drone-Assisted Inspection, Physical Verification, Scaffold/Staging, Critical-Path Downtime, Fleet Program ROI & NPV

Remote Ship Inspection Drone vs Scaffold Cost & Downtime Tool

Compare drone-assisted ship inspection with full scaffold/staging access without assuming the drone replaces every close-up or measurement task. Simple mode compares drone scan + physical follow-up against full scaffold access. Advanced mode adds multiple tanks/holds/structures, drone applicability, follow-up share, staging labor/material, critical-path overlap, data processing, owned-drone program cost and fleet economics.

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Need survey-credit logic and fleet economics? Click Advanced above.Add multiple inspection areas, drone applicability, physical verification share, scaffold erection/dismantling, drone reporting effort, method-specific critical-path overlap, attending-surveyor cost, owned-drone CAPEX, annual training/software/insurance and lifecycle NPV.

Fast Drone-Assisted vs Full-Scaffold Screen

Simple mode assumes all method hours affect the vessel's inspection critical path. Drone-assisted inspection includes the entered physical follow-up hours for findings, tactile checks, NDT or locations the drone cannot credit.

Inspection type

Inspection surface / coverage aream².

Drone inspection productivitym²/hour of scanning.

Drone mobilization / setuphours.

Drone inspection all-in rateSelected currency / operating hour.

Physical follow-up accesshours of tactile/NDT/manual access after drone screening.

Scaffold inspection productivitym²/hour after access is built.

Scaffold erection / dismantling / setuphours.

Scaffold / access all-in rateSelected currency / hour including crew/rental burden.

Vessel downtime / critical-path valueSelected currency / vessel-day.

Fleet / Survey Program Basis

Vessels in program

Inspection campaigns / vessel-year

Vessel commercial / downtime valueSelected currency / vessel-day.

Surveyor / owner inspection costSelected currency / attended inspection hour.

Drone method critical-path share% of drone-assisted hours that actually delay vessel release.

Scaffold method critical-path share%.

Economic horizonyears.

Discount rate%.

Drone-Assisted Inspection Cost

Drone mobilization / setup / campaignhours.

Drone field crew all-in rateSelected currency / hour.

Drone equipment / service rateSelected currency / flight/scanning hour.

Fixed drone mobilization / travel cost

Data processing hours / flight hourhours of post-processing per scan hour.

Data analyst / reporting rateSelected currency / hour.

Physical follow-up productivitym²/hour for local tactile/NDT/manual follow-up.

Local follow-up access setup / campaignhours if follow-up is required.

Physical follow-up all-in rateSelected currency / access hour.

Full Scaffold / Staging Cost

Scaffold erection productivitym²/hour effective coverage equivalent.

Scaffold inspection productivitym²/hour.

Erection / dismantling labor rateSelected currency / hour.

Inspection crew rateSelected currency / hour.

Scaffold material / rental costSelected currency / m² covered.

Fixed scaffold mobilization / logistics

Inspection-Area Register

Drone applicability is the share that can realistically be scanned by the selected drone method. Physical verification is the share of drone-scanned area expected to need tactile/NDT/manual follow-up.

Tank / hold / structure	Area m²	Drone applicability %	Drone productivity m²/h	Physical verification %	Scaffold coverage %	Inspection complexity

Owned-Drone Program Economics

Set CAPEX to zero if the drone inspection is fully outsourced and only per-campaign service costs matter.

Drone / LiDAR / payload program CAPEX

Annual training / certification

Annual software / data / support

Annual insurance / maintenance / batteries

Target simple paybackyears.

RIT / Inspection Readiness

Class / surveyor acceptance confirmedThe intended drone/RIT scope is accepted for the specific survey and ship. Service supplier / pilot competence verifiedRequired approvals, training and experience are in place. Gas-free / enclosed-space preparation definedDrone use does not bypass tank-entry, atmosphere or permit requirements that still apply. Lighting / image-quality requirement definedResolution, illumination and viewing geometry support the intended defect detection. Physical verification / NDT plan definedSuspect findings and required tactile/thickness measurements have a follow-up path. GPS-denied / confined-space flight plan verifiedLocalization, collision protection and recovery procedures fit the space. Battery / spare / recovery plan definedFlight interruption and lost-drone recovery are considered. Live surveyor viewing / evidence workflow definedImages, defect references, location mapping and reporting support survey credit.

Inspection-planning screen only: drone-assisted RIT is not the same as a remote survey and does not automatically replace close-up physical access, thickness measurement, tactile examination or attending-surveyor requirements. Credit depends on the applicable survey scope, Administration/class requirements, service-supplier acceptance, image quality and any required verification of findings.

2026 survey context: IMO's SDC 12 agreed draft guidance for the use of remote inspection techniques in ESP Code surveys, using tools such as drones and robotic devices to inspect hard-to-reach structure, for consideration at MSC 111 together with associated ESP Code amendments. DNV currently offers drone-assisted surveys for ballast and cargo tanks, cargo holds, jack-up legs and other structural components. Remote inspection techniques and remote surveys are not interchangeable concepts, and the applicable survey credit, attending-surveyor involvement, image quality, close-up access and physical verification requirements remain ship- and survey-specific. IMO SDC 12 RIT Update · DNV Drone Surveys · DNV Digital Class / Remote Surveys

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