Boston-based technology and shipbuilding company Blue Water Autonomy has unveiled details of its first vessel, the Liberty Class, a 190-foot steel autonomous ship with a range of over 10,000 nautical miles and over 150 metric tons of payload capacity.
The autonomous surface vessel was designed in partnership with Damen, with construction scheduled to begin at Conrad Shipyard in March 2026.
The first vessel is expected to be completed for the U.S. Navy later this year under a program of record.
The Liberty class will be built on Damen’s Stan Patrol 6009 hull design.
As the U.S. Navy drives to expand fleet capacity, accelerating the deployment of unmanned systems that complement traditional crewed ships has become a critical effort.
Blue Water redesigned the vessel from the inside out, beginning with the engine room and extending through the ship’s mechanical and electrical systems through autonomous configuration of fault-tolerant propulsion systems.
Those design choices enable automated control and fault management with limited human intervention on months-long deployments, resulting in a design with an operational range of approximately 10,000 nautical miles.
The launch of Liberty comes as U.S. Navy and Pentagon leadership push defence contractors to privately develop key military technology.
Blue Water’s ships will be constructed at Conrad Shipyard in Louisiana, whose five yards and 1,100- workforce produce 30+ ships per year.
Liberty class is a reference to the Liberty Ships of World War II, which were produced rapidly and at scale to meet urgent national needs.
Following delivery of the first ship, Blue Water plans to move into serial production, targeting 10 to 20 vessels per year.
The construction of the Liberty class will take place at Conrad Shipyard in Louisiana – which has produced Damen-designed hulls before.
“The Liberty class reflects our focus on building autonomous ships that are designed from the start for long-duration operations and repeat production,” said Rylan Hamilton, chief executive of Blue Water Autonomy. “By adapting a proven hull and re-engineering it for unmanned operations, we’re delivering a vessel that can operate for extended periods without crew while being produced at a pace the Navy urgently needs. This is a modern take on an old idea: building capable ships quickly and at scale.”
