The entry-exit inspection and quarantine bureau of Taicang, Jiangsu province recently finished the weight survey of an iron ore freighter from Australia weighing 92,100 tons by using drones, Taicang Daily reported.

This was also the first weight inspection of import commodities conducted adopting drone technology in Jiangsu province.

According to Taicang quarantine authority, employing drones helps to increase their work efficiency and decrease the processing costs. As it used to take them 45 minutes to conduct one weight inspection, which can now be shortened to 20 minutes.

Previously, quarantine inspectors must approach the starboard side of cargo ships before conducting weight survey, but for now they just need to operate the drone on deck, which will observe the cargo ship and feed real-time data back to a hand-held remote device. On the device quarantine inspectors can record their observations via a special application.

Officials from the city's entry-exit inspection and quarantine bureau said that drones perform well even in windy conditions, and relay good quality video, satisfying the requirements of a quarantine inspection.

The video footage is also able to be kept to record traceability and even can be used to resolve disputes.