British SME ZeroUSV is nearing the launch of the world’s first charter fleet of fully autonomous uncrewed surface vessels, starting with the Oceanus12, which was recently set afloat at Manor Marine in Portland, Dorset.
This vessel is now poised for commissioning and integration trials from its home port in Plymouth, England.
The rollout of the Oceanus12 series is ongoing, with no slowdown in sight; the second vessel is set to be completed by late March, followed closely by the third and fourth.
The Oceanus12, designed for long-range, over-the-horizon operations, is also mission agnostic, capable of performing a variety of tasks ranging from surveys and monitoring of critical assets to safety, geophysical surveys, border control, fisheries, defense, and more.
The technology behind the Oceanus12 is revolutionary, featuring a hybrid-electric drive system with twin drives for redundancy and efficiency, and an onboard fuel capacity ensuring a cruising range of over 2,500 nautical miles.
It also incorporates MarineAI’s Guardian software, the only fully autonomous software stack available on the market.
Matthew Ratsey, founder of Zero USV, commented that Oceanus12 can undertake a wide array of offshore tasks typically requiring a crew, thus eliminating on-water risks and related costs, which also includes significant environmental benefits due to its crewless nature.
Utilizing a suite of world-class marine sensors, such as the internationally renowned mm-wave Navtech Radar, the Oceanus12 integrates multiple data streams into MarineAI’s GuardianAI autonomy software, enabling real-time processing and analysis for COLREG-compliant vessel control and navigation.
