Blue Water Autonomy unveils Liberty-class autonomous ship developed with Damen

12.02.2026 11:16

Navaltoday.com

Boston-based technology and shipbuilding company Blue Water Autonomy has unveiled its first class of vessels, the Liberty-class autonomous vessel, developed in partnership with Dutch shipbuilding major Damen.

Credit: Blue Water Autonomy

Liberty is a 190-foot (58 meters) 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 collaboration with Damen, with construction beginning at Conrad Shipyard in March 2026. The first vessel is expected to be completed for the US Navy later this year under a program of record.

The Liberty Class will be built on Damen’s Stan Patrol 6009 hull design. Blue Water selected the design due to its axe bow, a distinctive, vertical bow that slices cleanly through the waves, minimizing slamming and allowing more gradual wave re-entry.

Credit: Damen

“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, CEO 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.”

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. Wrapped around the ship’s internal technology, the axe bow steel hull offers a rugged wave-piercing ship proven in harsh ocean environments, the company noted.

Damen supports the program through its Damen Technical Cooperation (DTC) licensing model, which it has applied with partners and shipyards around the world, including in the United States.

“The Axe Bow hull was designed for demanding operational requirements, from speed and range to seakeeping,” said Mark Honders, Design and License Manager at Damen.

“Seeing the Stan Patrol 6009 adapted for autonomous operation underscores the flexibility of the design and demonstrates how proven commercial designs can serve new and emerging maritime missions.”

The launch of Liberty comes as Navy and Pentagon leadership push defense contractors to privately develop military technology.

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. Construction of the Liberty class will take place at Conrad Shipyard in Louisiana – which has produced Damen-designed hulls before.

“Conrad has a long history of building complex vessels for both commercial and government customers,” said Cecil Hernandez, President and CEO of Conrad Shipyard.

“We have the infrastructure, workforce, and production readiness to begin construction and support serial builds, helping translate advanced vessel designs into operational capacity.”