ACUA Ocean has marked a key milestone in the development of its autonomous unmanned surface vessel (USV) technology with a naming ceremony for the USV-Pioneer at Turnchapel Wharf, Plymouth, according to a press release.
The event, which follows the vessel’s successful launch in December 2024, brought together representatives from the Ministry of Defence, Department for Transport, The Crown Estate, National Shipbuilding Office, and major defence and marine industry players, including Thales, BP, Babcock, and the Royal Navy.
The USV-Pioneer, ACUA Ocean’s first autonomous surface vessel, was formally christened by Marta Krupinska, Chair of ACUA Ocean, in a traditional ceremony that included the breaking of a champagne bottle over the hull. The event also featured panel discussions with industry leaders, focusing on the role of dual-use technology in British engineering and the importance of accelerating net zero offshore supply chains.
Following the discussions, attendees were taken to the docks for an afloat inspection of the USV-Pioneer, ahead of its upcoming sea trials later this year.
The event was described as a major moment for ACUA Ocean, reflecting the company’s transition from concept to operational vessel. The company has positioned its technology as part of a wider push to scale up advanced maritime capabilities across the UK’s naval and offshore industries.
Commenting on the vessel’s progress, ACUA Ocean Co-Founder Neil Tinmouth said:
“This day marks a pivotal milestone for ACUA Ocean and the USV-Pioneer. A lot of hard work has gone into getting us to this point, and I cannot thank our incredible team of engineers and technicians enough for their commitment. While this is a moment to savour, we must remember that it is just the beginning.”
He emphasised the importance of further development and scaling up the technology, particularly in defence and critical infrastructure protection, stating:
“We believe the USV-Pioneer has a duty to deliver safety and security for our nation, and we will do what we must to make sure it borrows from yesterday to meet the demands of today and tomorrow.”
Obvious Project Cabot applications, and the company are working on a larger 24m model called Maelstrom.
Putting my head above the parapet here, but what are the actual qualities and purposes of this vessel? Difficult to get any idea at all from the picture or that much more from the text accompanying it. Guess when I have the time I will have to do some research as I’m sure there is some innovation and focused purpose here, well beyond what looks superficially like a barge with a small container on top which I’m sure doesn’t do it any justice at all. Wonder what the sea trials will involve.
Pioneer is SWATH, it has two submerged hulls that gives exceptional seakeeping in large waves. ACUA did wave pool tests at Southampton Uni in which they found that the design had equivalent seakeeping to a monohull of 10 times the displacement and 3 times the length.
It has an endurance of 50 days at 4 knots using diesel power, enough to cross the GIUK gap 10 times (my calculation).
The payload is 6 tonnes, which has access to the water using a moonpool between the hulls. ACUA talk a lot about the ability to deploy ROVs, but I think it could also pull a small towed array if necessary.
It’s a SWATH catamaran (very high stability), about 14m long, “capable of collecting data and deploying sensor and system payloads”. Whatever that last bit means in practice. Shown here with half a TEU, it’s capable of carrying a full 20′ container. Obviously aimed at Cabot, I also wonder about CSG inter-ship transfer possibilities.
I thought that SWATH hulls make terrible cargo vessels? The freeboard is very sensitive to changes in weight, so much so that there were issues on ferries with passengers moving from the bow to the stern.
What may be useful for SWATH hulls is as a lean manned patrol vessel using the larger hull, where the increased room for engines may allow high speeds in very varied sea states. P2000/ RB1 replacement on a 30m hull, perhaps?
You may well be right. I just thought that as it seemed designed around a 20′ container size, perhaps it had a future carrying a lightweight containerful. I’m not sure why changes in weight would be a thing with a cargo-carrying autonomous boat. Forgive me, I’m speaking from ignorance. I assumed you’d eyeball the sea state, decide the capacity limit and stay under that.
I can see some advantages for training vessels like P2000 replacements being SWATH – fewer undergrads tossing their breakfasts over the sides for a start. I’m less sure about RB1 replacements. There’d be less in-hull space and far more deck, right? Is that the right profile for a patrol boat, which requires duration?
I suspect that the hull form has been optimised for an exactly 6t payload (or just below that) with a little bit of wiggle room either way. Adding a fully loaded 30t TEU on it will most likely put the centre platform touching the water in a seaway, completely nullifying the SWATH advantages.
You might be able to add a buoyancy system that adjusts to the payload on board, but even then it might not manage between a fully loaded and an empty container (the displacement of the base design is only 27t by itself).
As for the patrol ship, I think below a certain size deck layout becomes more important than hull volume. As long as you have an enclosed deck inside the platform, there will be sufficient room for accomodation for a crew of 20 (imagine a 30m by 20m bunkhouse).
The reliability of the engines will decide whether you can fit the diesels in the hulls or whether they have to be fitted in below the platform (if they’re in the hulls you can’t really do maintenance without lifting it out of the water). The fuel can all be stored in the hulls, which gives loads of endurance because nothing else needs to be there.
But you then have loads of topside space for RHIBS, a couple of HMG RWS and a nice open bridge.
So it’s quite suited to the MCMV or offshore patrol roles.
How fast can it go? And can it be used to transfer containers between ships?
20ft ISO. Max speed 6.5 knots. Operation speed 4 knots.
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