Alameda-based Saildrone just announced that its Surveyor-class of unmanned surface vehicles (USV) has received full classification from the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS). The Surveyor is a 20-meter USV capable of long-endurance missions in the open ocean, collecting deep-ocean measurements, and performing a wide range of maritime tasks, from anti-submarine warfare (ASW) to trans-ocean cable route surveys.
The landmark achievement sets a new global benchmark for unmanned systems and highlights Saildrone’s leadership in developing fully classed, open-ocean-capable USVs. This milestone follows the Voyager, Saildrone’s coastal and near-shore USV, which received ABS class in 2023.
While other platforms have received certificates or interim approvals under evolving unmanned vessel frameworks, no other unmanned surface or underwater vehicle has yet received full classification status from any classification society. The ABS is the first to grant full class to an unmanned platform, marking a key milestone for the industry.
About the ABS classification
The official classification assigned is A1, DV Naval Craft, AUTONOMOUS (NAV, MNV, PRP, AUX, RO3), which follows the Rules for Building and Classing Light Warships, Patrol, and High-Speed Naval Vessels (2023).
“The ABS class certification is more than a certificate—it’s a signal to governments and the maritime industry that Saildrone USVs are mature, safe, tested, and ready for scale,” said Saildrone founder and CEO Richard Jenkins. “It’s been a very large investment and a multi-year process to achieve ABS Class Certification, but we are proud to be the first company in the world to do so and proud that our systems have reached the highest standards as required by the ABS Class certificate.”
ABS certification is an internationally recognized standard for safety, design integrity, and operational reliability. The classification process is a rigorous review and validation of a vessel’s design, construction, and autonomous control systems. For unmanned vehicles like Saildrone’s Surveyor and Voyager, this process includes autonomous control systems, cybersecure communications, structural integrity, and fail-safe redundancies, ensuring the vehicle can safely operate without crew, even in complex, unpredictable ocean conditions.
The 10-meter Voyager is designed for persistent surveillance in coastal and near-shore environments, complementing the Surveyor’s blue-water capabilities. Both platforms are capable of fully autonomous operations with no humans on board and are remotely monitored 24/7 by Saildrone’s global Mission Management team.
“ABS and Saildrone are pioneering new frontiers, setting the pace for innovation,” said ABS Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer Patrick Ryan. “This step forward is a result of our investments in ABS’s technical capability and helping to ensure our rules are able to support innovation with an unwavering focus on safety.”
Saildrone USVs are currently supporting missions around the world, including ocean mapping, border security, persistent ISR, and critical infrastructure security. With both its Surveyor and Voyager platforms fully classed by ABS, Saildrone is uniquely positioned to support the next generation of naval and commercial unmanned operations.
About Saildrone
Founder Richard Jenkins developed Saildrone’s core technology over a 10-year period, driven by the research he conducted to break the world speed record for wind-powered vehicles.
Based in Alameda’s former Naval Air Station, Saildrone designs and develops advanced autonomous technology to monitor and safeguard the world’s oceans. The company track record reflects “unparalleled endurance and capability, with over 50,000 days at sea and 2 million nautical miles sailed from the High North to the Southern Ocean and into the eye of a hurricane.”
After winning an East Bay Economic Development Alliance Innovation Award in 2024, Saildrone CFO Barak Ben-Gal told the Alameda Post, “We have been breaking new ground in unmanned maritime data collection for over 10 years—whether in sailing into hurricanes or detecting illegal maritime trafficking—and this award helps to highlight the impact that our work is having across ocean science, ocean mapping, and ocean security.”
