Blue Water Autonomy Introduces Liberty Class, a 190-Foot Autonomous Ship for the U.S. Navy

Blue Water Autonomy, building autonomous ships for the open ocean, led by Rylan Hamilton, Scott N. Miller, and Austin Gray, has announced details of its first vessel, the Liberty Class. Liberty is 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 set to begin at Conrad Shipyard in March 2026. The first vessel is scheduled for completion later this year for the U.S. Navy under a program of record.

As the U.S. Navy seeks to expand fleet capacity, accelerating the deployment of unmanned systems alongside crewed ships has become a strategic priority. Liberty’s design supports missile, sensor, and logistics payloads, offering an immediately producible vessel built through existing U.S. shipyards and commercial supply chains.

The Liberty Class is based on Damen’s Stan Patrol 6009 hull, selected for its Axe Bow, a vertical bow design that cuts through waves, reduces slamming, and improves seakeeping. With more than 300 Axe Bow vessels in service globally, the hull offers proven performance and reduced technical risk.

This foundation allows engineering efforts to focus on redesigning internal systems for autonomous operation, while preserving payload capacity, endurance for months-long deployments, and readiness for serial production.

“The Liberty class is designed from the start for long-duration, repeatable autonomous operations,” said Rylan Hamilton, CEO of Blue Water Autonomy. “By adapting a proven hull for unmanned use, the vessel enables extended deployments and rapid production at scale.”

Blue Water redesigned the vessel internally with fault-tolerant, autonomous propulsion and automated control systems, enabling months-long missions with minimal human intervention and a range of about 10,000 nautical miles.

The rugged Axe Bow steel hull provides proven wave-piercing performance in harsh ocean conditions.

Blue Water paired its high-endurance autonomous technology with Damen’s proven Stan Patrol 6009 hull, widely used across commercial and government programs and supported through Damen’s global DTC licensing model.

“The Axe Bow hull was built for demanding performance,” said Mark Honders of Damen. “Its adaptation for autonomous operations shows how proven commercial designs can support emerging maritime missions.”

Privately Funded, Production-Ready

Liberty was developed entirely with private capital, in partnership with over 100 suppliers, including Damen and Conrad.

The vessels will be built at Conrad Shipyard in Louisiana, which produces 30+ ships annually using advanced, highly automated processes that enable scalable, parallel construction.

“Conrad has a long history of delivering complex vessels for commercial and government customers,” said Cecil Hernandez, President and CEO of Conrad Shipyard. “With the infrastructure, workforce, and production readiness in place, we are prepared to begin construction and support serial builds that turn advanced designs into operational capacity.”

The Liberty class takes its name from the World War II Liberty Ships, built rapidly and at scale to meet urgent national demand. After delivering the first vessel, Blue Water plans to enter serial production, targeting 10–20 ships annually.

Construction will take place at Conrad Shipyard in Louisiana, leveraging existing capacity, workforce expertise, and prior experience building Damen-designed hulls to enable efficient, scalable production.