On the afternoon of May 28, a drone stood ready on the launch pad at the Anhui Donghui Drone Delivery Service Base in Wuhu, east China's Anhui Province, its four rotors humming steadily.

"Payload 15 kilograms. Ready for takeoff." After the operator's final check, he tapped the control screen, and the drone lifted smoothly into the air, heading straight for a vessel at anchor.

A drone en route to the anchorage at the Anhui Donghui Drone Delivery Service Base in Wuhu, east China's Anhui Province. (People's Daily Online/Zhang Jun)

Five minutes later, it arrived above the ship, descended slowly, and accurately delivered the supplies ordered by the crew onto the deck. It then automatically returned to base.

For Gao Shun, who has spent more than a decade working on vessels along the Yangtze River, such scenes are no longer unusual. In the past, however, she could hardly have imagined receiving deliveries while out on the river.

More than 2,000 vessels pass through the Wuhu section of the Yangtze River every day, carrying nearly 20,000 crew members. For those who spend much of their lives on the water, even a bag of rice, a parcel, or a bottle of urgently needed medicine could once be difficult to obtain.

A drone is all set and ready for takeoff at the Anhui Donghui Drone Delivery Service Base in Wuhu, east China's Anhui Province. (People's Daily Online/Miao Zijian)

Located at the Donghui Port terminal in Wuhu, the base officially began operations in September 2024. It uses drones to deliver supplies directly to vessels on the Yangtze River, eliminating the need for crew members to dock and purchase necessities ashore, said Wang Guohan, general manager of Anhui Donghui Storage and Transportation Co., Ltd.

The breakthrough came on April 17 last year, when the base completed the country's first drone delivery to a vessel navigating the Yangtze River without interrupting its voyage. Supplies were delivered directly to a cargo ship in transit, eliminating the need to enter an anchorage area or stop and wait.

A drone carrying supplies takes off smoothly at the Anhui Donghui Drone Delivery Service Base in Wuhu, east China's Anhui Province. (People's Daily Online/Miao Zijian)

According to Wang, the logistics drone can carry payloads of up to 40 kilograms, operate within a radius of 8 kilometers, and fly at a steady speed of 15 meters per second. Most deliveries are completed within 10 minutes.

A staff member operates a drone to deliver supplies to passing vessels on the Wuhu section of the Yangtze River in Wuhu, east China's Anhui Province. (People's Daily Online/Miao Zijian)

Since launching operations, the base has completed 2,575 deliveries, transported 10.3 tonnes of cargo, logged 11,307 kilometers of flight distance and 296 flight hours, and served more than 2,000 vessels.

A drone delivers supplies to vessels at the anchorage on the Wuhu section of the Yangtze River in Wuhu, east China's Anhui Province. (People's Daily Online/Zhang Jun)

Drone controller interface shows flight status at a glance. (People's Daily Online/Miao Zijian