Special Report

Autonomy at Sea

Report cover

That slower pace is typical of emerging technologies, yet the direction of travel is clear: autonomy is coming, driven by the promise of lower costs, improved safety and greater operational efficiency.

Speaking to Maritime Journal, industry participants talk about how momentum is building. Fincantieri is developing swarms of subsea drones, while Subsea Europe Services is taking a holistic approach to connecting assets from deep underwater environments to cloud-based systems. Hefring Marine is refining predictive models by continuously gathering real-time operational data to inform decision-making at sea.

Our sponsor, SEA.AI, describes machine vision as a “critical layer” for maritime autonomy, reducing crew workload and laying the groundwork for increasingly automated operations. Elsewhere, Dynautics is tackling subsea communications by eliminating umbilicals, while ACUA Ocean is setting offshore benchmarks with its hydrogen-powered Pioneer vessel.

From perception and decision making to propulsion, companies such as CUSP, Marine AI and RAD Propulsion, illustrate how autonomy is becoming a practical reality across uncrewed maritime operations.

In this report

Acua Ocean founders Mike Tinmouth (L) with brother Neil POWER & PROPULSION
POWER & PROPULSION

ACUA OCEAN: Pioneers in hydrogen USV technology

Karl Birgir Björnsson, CEO of Hefring Marine INTERVIEWS
INTERVIEWS

From safety to systems: how Hefring began

FLANQ_Jannik SUBSEA SERVICES
SUBSEA SERVICES

From sky to sea: A holistic security solution

Fincantieri executive vice president Underwater, Gabriele Maria Cafaro SUBSEA SERVICES
SUBSEA SERVICES

Into the DEEP: Fincantieri enters subsea robotics sector

Screenshot 2026-01-23 111336 INTERVIEWS
INTERVIEWS

Machine vision: A critical layer in autonomy

Richard Dowdeswell, GeoAcoustics CCO (right) HYDROGRAPHIC SURVEY
HYDROGRAPHIC SURVEY

Offshore wind on the CUSP of SBP breakthrough

202503010_Dan Head Shots _Full Res_LimeTide-09 POWER & PROPULSION
POWER & PROPULSION

Silent disruptor: Driving the uncrewed revolution

Will Alexander SUBSEA SERVICES
SUBSEA SERVICES

Systems thinking is critical for complex naval autonomy

Oliver Thompson, director of Engineering, Marine AI INTERVIEWS
INTERVIEWS

When AI adds noise, safety runs aground

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