With nearly a hundred thousand ships constantly sailing, the shipping network is the backbone of the global economy – vital for access to food & pharmaceuticals, commodities, industrial goods, and energy security.

Many of these goods are high value, some are stored under high pressure, high temperatures, and some are flammable, requiring tanks of high integrity to ensure safe handling and a secure environment for crews. To ensure integrity, tanks require inspections every three to five years, which makes the number of annual tank inspections about the same amount as there are ships sailing.

Traditionally, human inspectors perform this work manually, entering the tanks through narrow openings wearing protective suits, gas masks, and using climbing harnesses and scaffolding to visually inspect for corrosion and cracks.
Due to the health and safety risks associated with climbing and breathing hazardous gases, most oil and shipping companies aim to eliminate human-performed inspections by 2030.

ScoutDI, a high-tech approach to tank inspections

ScoutDI, which DNV Ventures first invested in during March 2021, specializes in drones and software for indoor industrial inspections, initially focusing on tanks in the FPSO- and maritime sector. Originating from NTNU research in 2017, ScoutDI has impressively developed advanced technologies, including proprietary tethered drones and autonomous flight software. The company is headquartered in Trondheim, and the organization counts 30 employees.

With ScoutDI's advanced drone technology, the vision is clear: enabling a single operator to program a flight path for a specific tank, allowing the drone to fly autonomously BVLOS (Beyond Visual Line of Sight), capture high-resolution images, perform integrity tests, and seamlessly upload all data to a cloud-hosted platform.

This transformative approach will empower inspectors to access a comprehensive 3D model—a digital twin—of the asset, evaluate its condition, monitor the progression of cracks, corrosion, and other wear over time, and better predict failures and maintenance needs. Once realized, this capability will represent a groundbreaking milestone for the inspection industry worldwide, setting a new standard in safety, efficiency, and data-driven decision-making.

Growing with global customers

ScoutDI enhances the quality of inspections while significantly reducing time and risk. This innovation has been well-received in the market, with ScoutDI’s drone systems used by customers in over 20 countries, on all five continents.
In 2024, the company achieved two impressive milestones: first, completing the Turritella project with Shell, receiving the first ABS class sign-off for the world’s first robotic FPSO cargo tank inspection, and second, performing an autonomous cargo tank inspection on board a Klaveness Combination Carrier in transit between New York and the Bahamas.

In light of these accomplishments, DNV Ventures, alongside friends and longtime supporters Equinor Ventures, Devico Invest and Klaveness, continued to support ScoutDI through another round of financing totaling NOK 31.8m in November 2024 led by Trondheim-based investor Såkorn 1 Midt, managed by CoFounder. This constellation is bringing new valuable experiences, networks, and excitement to keep supporting the fantastic team at ScoutDI on their mission of making autonomous drone inspection technology the primary method for tank inspections across various industries on a global scale.