Drones, which were first developed for the military use, have been widely applied in various industrial fields through the rapid development of element technology. Following this trend, the marine industry has started to utilize drones for maintenance and inspection purposes, especially, in Europe. To extend the use of drones in the marine industry, this paper first discusses the necessity of drones for the marine use by presenting problems related to maintenance and inspection works on ships and offshore plants. In addition, the technical levels of advanced countries where drones have been commercialized already in the marine industry are mentioned. Furthermore, technical challenges that must be solved are explained in preparation for a drone era in the marine industry. Lastly, the potential growth of the drone market in the marine industry is considered.