Liberty hull modules under assembly at Conrad; Blue Water targets its first ship by late 2026

Blue Water Autonomy/Liberty-class autonomous ship

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. Co-founder Austin Gray said the ship is built to run 60 to 90 days with no crew intervention.

• Engines in 20-ft containers form a redundant microgrid.
• The aft deck holds four 40-ft containers of payload.
• Missed the first seven Navy medium uncrewed ship selections; won a place on a $40M-ceiling seafloor-mapping IDIQ.
• About 60 full-time staff.