# Liberty-class autonomous ship by Blue Water Autonomy Canonical page: https://technooptimist.io/manufacturing/liberty-class Frontier: [Manufacturing](https://technooptimist.io/manufacturing.md) · Field: Shipbuilding · Company: [Blue Water Autonomy](https://technooptimist.io/companies/blue-water-autonomy.md) Stage: Proto (2 of 5: Research → Proto → Pilot → Deploy → Scaling) Updated: last update 2026-08-01, facts checked 2026-10-11 Goal: Give the Navy many long-range ships fast and cheaply by removing the crew and building on a proven hull in commercial yards, at 10 to 20 ships a year once the first is delivered. Status: First hull under construction at Conrad Shipyard since March 2026; completion targeted for late 2026. Next milestone: First Liberty-class ship completed for the Navy, target Q4 2026 ## Milestones | Status | Milestone | Date | Slip | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Done | Company incorporated | Apr 2024 | | | Done | Out of stealth with $14M seed | Apr 2025 | | | Done | $50M Series A led by GV | 26 Aug 2025 | | | Done | Liberty class unveiled | 11 Feb 2026 | | | Done | Construction starts at Conrad Shipyard | Mar 2026 | | | Current | First Liberty-class ship completed for the Navy | Q4 2026 | | | Planned | Serial production, 10–20 ships a year | | | ## Upcoming events - **Q4 2026**: First Liberty-class ship completed for the Navy - **Q4 2026**: First Liberty-class ship completed at Conrad Shipyard ## Most important updates - **Aug 2026**: Liberty hull modules under assembly at Conrad; Blue Water targets its first ship by late 2026. Construction of the first Liberty-class ship began at Conrad in March 2026, and several hull modules were being assembled at the time of the interview. ([our story](https://technooptimist.io/stories/liberty-hull-modules-under-assembly-at-conrad-blue-water-targets-its-0caeef94.md) · [original source](https://www.maritimemagazines.com/marine-news/202608/blue-water-autonomy/)) - **11 Feb 2026**: Blue Water Autonomy unveils the 190-foot Liberty-class crewless ship, to be built at Conrad Shipyard. The Liberty class is a 190-foot steel ship with over 10,000 nm of range and more than 150 tonnes of payload, built on Damen's Stan Patrol 6009 hull. ([our story](https://technooptimist.io/stories/blue-water-autonomy-unveils-the-190-foot-liberty-class-crewless-ship-to-b77629b1.md) · [original source](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/blue-water-autonomy-introduces-liberty-class-a-190-foot-autonomous-ship-for-the-us-navy-302684880.html)) - **26 Aug 2025**: Blue Water Autonomy raises $50M Series A led by GV to build a full-size autonomous ship. Blue Water Autonomy raised $50M led by GV, bringing total funding to $64M, to build and deploy its first long-range, full-size autonomous ship in 2026. ([our story](https://technooptimist.io/stories/blue-water-autonomy-raises-50m-series-a-led-by-gv-to-build-a-full-size-3feca37a.md) · [original source](https://www.therobotreport.com/blue-water-autonomy-nets-50m-to-build-autonomous-ships/)) ## Current obstacles - **First hull on schedule**: Hull modules were being assembled at Conrad in mid-2026; completion is targeted for later in 2026. - **No program of record award yet**: Missed the first tranche of the Navy's medium uncrewed ship competition; later tranches remain open. ## Physics limits - **Nobody aboard to fix things**: Ships at sea suffer constant small failures; without crew each one must be absorbed by redundancy or handled remotely, which adds weight, cost and complexity to every system. - **Thin links over open ocean**: Far from shore, satellite links are limited and can be jammed, so the ship must make most decisions on board rather than be steered remotely. ## How it works ### Axe Bow hull: A bow that cuts through waves A near-vertical bow slices through waves instead of riding over them, keeping the ship steadier; licensed from Damen. ### Container power plant: Engines as swappable boxes Engines sit in 20-ft containers wired as a microgrid, so the ship keeps power and propulsion if one fails. ### Fault management: Software instead of engineers Automated control detects and works around machinery faults with limited human input, the job a crew's engineers would do. ### Payload deck: Missions in containers The aft deck takes four 40-ft containers, so missiles, sensors or cargo can be swapped as modules. ## Spec sheet | Spec | Liberty-class autonomous ship | Provenance | | --- | --- | --- | | Length | 190 ft | reported | | Range | Over 10,000 nautical miles | reported | | Payload | Over 150 metric tons | reported | | Operation without crew | 60–90 days | reported | | Aft deck | Four 40-ft containers | reported | | Crew | None | reported | | Target build rate | 10–20 ships a year | reported | Provenance: reported = stated by the company; estimated = our estimate; sample = a sample figure. ## About Blue Water Autonomy Boston startup, founded in 2024, building a 190-foot crewless steel ship for months-long Navy missions, designed so existing US shipyards can build it in series. - Liberty class: 190 ft steel ship, 10,000+ nm range, 150+ t payload, on a licensed Damen hull. - First hull under construction at Conrad Shipyard, Louisiana since March 2026; due later in 2026. - Raised $64M (seed plus GV-led $50M Series A, 2025); aims for 10–20 ships a year after hull 1. - Founded: 2024 - Headquarters: US - Status: private - Staff: ~60 - Raised: $64M - Last round: Series A $50M, Aug 2025, led by GV - People: Rylan Hamilton (Co-founder and CEO); Austin Gray (Co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer) - Partners, customers, investors: Damen Shipyards (supplier); Conrad Shipyard (supplier); GV (investor); Naval Oceanographic Office (customer) Company page: https://technooptimist.io/companies/blue-water-autonomy.md ## Related programs Everything in Manufacturing: https://technooptimist.io/manufacturing.md --- The Techno Optimist tracks every frontier of technology, program by program: https://technooptimist.io/ (a Markdown version of any page: add .md to its URL; site map for agents: https://technooptimist.io/llms.txt). 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