Rolls Royce aims to rule global oceanic trade with proposed drone cargo ships

Luxury carmaker Rolls Royce is reportedly working on unmanned cargo ships that would roam the oceans carrying crates of goods.

The drone ships would be controlled by captains on the shore using virtual reality facilities to pilot their fleets.

According to Tech Crunch, the project is aimed at making seafaring shipping industry safer, less expensive and easier on the environment.

The market is worth 375 billion dollars annually, and despite air cargo services in place, 90 percent of traded goods are still shipped over the waves.

Rolls Royce's early designs for the cargo showed the huge cargo liners sans human labours, which would clear up even more room for cargo and make them 5 percent lighter, with 12 to 15 percent less fuel burn per trip.

The unmanned cargo ships would also help save up to 3,300 dollars-per-day in crew costs, which currently make up 44 percent of the total overall operating expenses for manned ocean-bound shipping.

Although, the project is far from reality for another decade, once in gear, it would mean cheaper prices, faster and efficient delivery of goods from warehouse to customer, the report added.