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NEW BEDFORD — Abandoned in storms, warfare, or piracy, so-called “ghost ships” like the famed Flying Dutchman were said to drift aimlessly with no living crew.
For Blue Water, a Navy-backed startup based in Lexington, Massachusetts, a crewless ship isn’t a ghost tale — it’s the main point.
On Oct. 31, Blue Water, joined by New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell, U.S. Rep. Bill Keating, and U.S. Rep. Jake Auchincloss, unveiled the first prototype of its fully autonomous vessel, the first ship of its kind to operate without any on-site human intervention. All of the ship’s test voyages will take place out of New Bedford.
While autonomous vessels have existed for years, until now, those designs have needed a “chase boat,” or a smaller, manned support vessel to help out should something go wrong. The goal of this technology, Blue Water CEO Rylan Hamilton said, is to get rid of that boat.
“We want to fire the chase boat,” Hamilton said.
Mounted on a barge floating off of Fish Island, the ship looks very little like a boat humans would man. Without the need for any living quarters, all of the ship’s functions, from navigation to engines to fuel, are confined to storage containers. Cameras, sensors, and Blue Water’s proprietary software allow any human on land to operate the ship from afar, much like a drone or a driverless car.
“It’s a little easier at sea because we’re not worried about baby strollers,” Hamilton said.
While autonomous vessel technology could find its way into cargo ships, aircraft carriers, and other commercial applications, the technology is not meant to replace the crew on a commercial fishing vessel, Hamilton said, where humans are needed for more than just maintenance and navigation.
Although the current test version can fit on a relatively small barge, Hamilton said next year the company is building a larger, 150-foot prototype in the Gulf of Mexico to eventually test out the technology’s long-distance capabilities. Eventually, Hamilton hopes to build a fully autonomous ship that can deploy from California to the South China Sea and back.
“We’re testing on the water every single day and the focus is really on reliability,” Hamilton said. “When you’re operating either a vessel this size or a ship that’s even larger, you want to make sure that it works and it doesn’t get stuck and you’re dead in the water.”
Both Keating and Auchincloss stressed the importance of new maritime military technology to keep the U.S. competitive with China and other foreign entities in the Pacific.
“We face great threats in our country right now, threats that are occurring from China and Russia, whether it’s the South China Sea or whether it’s the Arctic,” Keating said. “These are real threats, and we have to have a modern defense industry in place to be able to deal with these things.”
Faced with threats to the offshore wind industry and an uncertain scalloping season, New Bedford is one of many Massachusetts communities turning to defense technology for economic development.
The mayor said the city’s partnership with Blue Water began just over a year ago with an informal meeting with Blue Water’s three founders. Since then, Hamilton said the company has raised nearly $64 million.
The city is no stranger to betting on underdog startups. Last April, New Bedford awarded $2.25 million to a local robotics nonprofit that had only been in operation for a few years. In 2022, the New Bedford Economic Development Council launched the NB100! grant program for startups and fledgling entrepreneurs, receiving more than 150 applicants in just 60 days. The program had to go on pause to keep up with demand. The city committed $1.1 million in pandemic relief money to the program, which in turn has funded 44 small businesses and startups.
Mitchell said New Bedford is uniquely situated to accommodate marine technology ventures like these thanks to its robust working waterfront and proximity to research universities like University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. More than that, however, is the city’s can-do mindset.
“Like the Bud Light commercials from a few years ago, we’re up for whatever,” Mitchell said.
Email Brooke Kushwaha at bkushwaha@newbedfordlight.org.
