A Japanese Owner Sends AI Drones to Look for Rust on Its Hull

Toei Kisen, a Japanese shipowner, will test an AI drone system for hull inspection from November, on one of its own ships. The system comes from Exa, a Japanese technology company. It is the first time Exa's system is used on a real ship.

How it works. Drones fly around the outside of the hull and take pictures and 3D measurements. From these, the system builds a digital twin, which means a 3D computer copy of the hull. AI then looks for defects such as rust and marks exactly where each one is on the copy. A third part plans safe flight paths, so the drones do not hit the hull. Exa uses 3D technology first built for the steel maker JFE Steel. The drone company Aeronext helps with the flying, and Forcesteed Robotics with the image analysis. Toei Kisen gives the ship and access to repair yards.

What they hope for. Today a hull inspection in dry dock can take several weeks. The developers hope to bring that down to a few days. Nobody has checked that yet, and the trial is meant to test it in real conditions: different hull shapes, wind, light and old coatings.

What is missing. No class society is named. No ship type or size. No cost.

Why it matters. Dry dock days are expensive, and much of the time goes to people on scaffolding with a torch and a notebook. A drone that marks every rust spot on a 3D copy gives the next dry dock something to compare with. That could be worth more than the time saved.

What to ask. If you are offered drone inspection at your next dry dock: will class accept the findings, or only use them as help? Who owns the 3D copy of your hull afterwards? And can the next yard read it? [Splash247]

This story is part of the Maritime AI Digest of 1 November 2026.