Blue Water Autonomy set to start construction of new Liberty Class at Conrad Shipyard

Boston, Mass-based Blue Water Autonomy, has unveiled details of its first vessel, the Liberty Class,
a 190-foot steel-hulled autonomous ship with a range of over 10,000 nautical miles and over 150 metric tons of payload capacity.

Construction of the first vessel is set to begin at Morgan City, La.-headquartered Conrad Shipyard in March 2026 and 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. 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.

The proven design reduces technical risk, allowing Blue Water to focus engineering on redesigning the vessel’s internal systems for autonomous operation.

The resulting platform retains the hull’s performance, payload capacity, and seakeeping characteristics, while supporting months-long deployment and serial production.

Damen is supporting the Blue Water 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, where Conrad has produced Damen-designed hulls before.

The name 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. – .

“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.”

To achieve autonomy, Blue Water redesigned the vessel from the inside out, beginning with the engine room and extending to the ship’s mechanical and electrical systems through autonomous configuration of fault-tolerant propulsion systems. It says that 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.

Conrad’s five yards and 1,100-strong workforce produce 30+ ships per year. The company uses an advanced shipbuilding approach, with highly automated panel line and welding techniques allow ingparallel builds and scalable throughput.

“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.”

Following delivery of the first ship, Blue Water plans to move into serial production, targeting ten to twenty vessels per year.

Blue Water says thar, working with over 100 world class suppliers such as Damen and Conrad, has developed Liberty entirely with private capital, an unprecedented approach for a full sized Navy ship, but one typical in commercial markets.

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