UK firm picks its first international franchisee for fully autonomous USV charter fleet

UK-headquartered Zero USV has named Leeway Marine as its first international franchisee for its uncrewed surface vessel (USV) charter fleet in North America.

According to Zero USV, Oceanus12 is designed for long-distance over-the-horizon operations and is mission agnostic, allowing a wide range of potential applications from surveys and monitoring of critical assets to safety, geophysical surveys, border control, fisheries, and defense, among others.

After nearly 18 months of design, engineering, and build, the company launched its inaugural Oceanus12 USV to the water for the first time at Manor Marine in Portland, Dorset, at the end of February.

The vessel series features a twin hybrid-electric drive system, with twin drives for redundancy and efficiency coupled with sufficient onboard fuel for a cruising range of more than 2,500 nautical miles, and uses MarineAI’s Guardian software, a fully autonomous software stack.

The partnership enables Leeway Marine to offer the Oceanus12 USV for charter throughout Canada and the wider North American region.

According to Zero USV, the charter-based business model is pioneering for this region and beyond.

The Leeway Group was founded in 2015 and is based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The group of companies includes Leeway Marine, Leeway Vessel Management, Offshore Crewing and related U.S. subsidiaries, with operations in Canada, U.S. and the Indo-Pacific region.

“Becoming Zero USV’s first global franchisee underscores our commitment to delivering the most advanced uncrewed capabilities. We see enormous potential for Oceanus12 – from defence and security tasks to environmental surveys and infrastructure monitoring,” said Jamie Sangster, CEO of Leeway Group.

“By coupling our regional expertise with Zero USV’s proven platform, we aim to bring the benefits of autonomous maritime operations to more organisations across the North American continent.”

The Oceanus12 fleet will initially comprise over 12 vessels, including the option for an Extra Long Range (XLR) version of 13 meters in length and carrying over 4,000 liters of fuel.

The second vessel in the Oceanus12 series was expected to be completed in late March and vessels three and four “hot on their heels”, coming one step closer to offering the “world’s first charter fleet of fully autonomous USVs”, Zero USV said in February.

“We are absolutely delighted to be bringing a company of the caliber and track record of Leeway Marine into the ZeroUSV network. To have Leeway Marine as our first global franchisee is a huge milestone for both companies and Leeway’s strong track record in the Canadian maritime sector makes it the ideal partner to champion Oceanus12 in North America,” said ZeroUSV Founder Matthew Ratsey.

“Our vision has always been to operationally scale ZeroUSV as fast as practically possible and to do this by creating a robust global network of key partners operating Oceanus12 uncrewed vessels that can address the wide range of operational needs, Leeway Marine as an early adopter will play a key role in helping us achieve the global reach we are striving for.”