"First" in class: Saildrone USV receives full classification from ABS

Maritime autonomy company Saildrone has announced that its new class of unmanned surface vehicle (USV) has received full classification from the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS). 

According to the announcement, while other unmanned platforms have received interim approvals, Saildrone’s USV is the first to receive full classification status from any classification society. The classification notation assigned is A1, DV Naval Craft, AUTONOMOUS (NAV, MNV, PRP, AUX, RO3), which follows the ABS rules for naval vessels.

According to Saildrone, the 20-metre USV is designed for long-endurance, open-ocean missions. It is capable of collecting deep-ocean bathymetry and performing a wide range of maritime domain awareness tasks, from anti-submarine warfare to trans-ocean cable route surveys. This follows the classification of a smaller, 10-metre USV in 2023, which is designed for persistent surveillance in coastal environments, the company said.

Richard Jenkins, Saildrone founder and CEO, stated that the certification, "is a signal to governments and the maritime industry that Saildrone USVs are mature, safe, tested, and ready for scale”.