Autonomous Boats Market Report 2025

The autonomous boats market size has grown strongly in recent years. It will grow from $1.28 billion in 2024 to $1.35 billion in 2025 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.8%. The growth in the historic period can be attributed to market acceptance, cost reduction, investment trends, regulatory frameworks, historical use cases.

The autonomous boats market size is expected to see strong growth in the next few years. It will grow to $1.78 billion in 2029 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.1%. The growth in the forecast period can be attributed to regulatory changes, market demand diversification, infrastructure development, global economic conditions, consumer acceptance. Major trends in the forecast period include energy efficiency, ai integration, data connectivity, modular design, environmental sensing.

An increase in demand for cargo transportation via marine routes is anticipated to drive the growth of the autonomous boats market in the future. Cargo transportation encompasses the movement of bulk commodities across water, air, or land. The safe and secure nature of water transportation facilitates efficient transfers of cargo between ports, leading to heightened demand for cargo transit through waterways and consequently increasing the need for autonomous boats. For instance, in July 2023, GOV.UK, a UK-based government services and information provider, reported that UK ports handled a total of 458.9 million tonnes of cargo in 2022, marking a 3% increase compared to 2021. Thus, the growing demand for cargo transportation through marine routes is expected to propel the expansion of the autonomous boat market.

The rising demand for maritime security and surveillance is expected to boost the growth of the autonomous boat market. Maritime security and surveillance encompass the measures and technologies implemented to safeguard and monitor activities in maritime zones, including coastal areas, ports, and international waters, aimed at preventing and responding to security threats such as piracy, terrorism, illegal trafficking, and unauthorized access. Autonomous boats equipped with advanced sensors and surveillance capabilities are particularly valuable for maritime security applications, including border patrol, monitoring illegal fishing activities, and protecting critical infrastructure. For instance, in August 2022, data released by the Information Fusion Centre, an India-based facility dedicated to gathering, analyzing, and disseminating maritime-related information to enhance maritime domain awareness and security, reported 59 incidents of theft, piracy, and robbery within the Area of Interest (AOI), reflecting a 40% increase compared to the 42 incidents recorded during the same period in 2021. Additionally, there was a significant rise in illegal human migration, with incidents increasing from 49 in 2022 to 137, marking a substantial 179% increase. Thus, the growing need for maritime security and surveillance is poised to drive the expansion of the autonomous boat market.

Leading companies in the autonomous boat market are focusing on the development of solar-powered autonomous boats to improve energy efficiency, lower operational costs, reduce environmental impact, and address the rising demand for sustainable and eco-friendly marine transportation solutions. A solar-powered autonomous boat is a vessel that operates independently without human intervention and is equipped with solar panels that harness sunlight as its primary energy source. For example, in February 2024, Clearbot.org, a Hong Kong-based company, launched solar-powered autonomous boats integrated with AI technology. Each boat can collect approximately 500 kg of plastic waste and debris, which is double the capacity of Clearbot's current models, and can gather up to 250 kg per day. By utilizing solar energy, Clearbot's boats produce zero carbon emissions, significantly minimizing their environmental impact compared to traditional diesel-powered vessels.

Leading companies in the autonomous boat market are dedicated to developing cutting-edge products, particularly AI-operated mother ships, to cater to the evolving needs of the marine industry and gain a competitive edge. An AI-operated mother ship is an autonomous vessel endowed with artificial intelligence capabilities, specifically designed to deploy and coordinate multiple air, sea, and submersible drones for various tasks in ocean observation. A notable example is the Zhu Hai Yun, unveiled by CSSC Guangzhou Shipbuilding Co. Ltd. in May 2022. Recognized as the world's first autonomous mothership with AI navigation, this crewless drone carrier spans approximately 290 feet in length, 45 feet in width, and 20 feet in depth. Equipped with the ability to launch numerous drones across air, sea, and submersible domains, the vessel supports diverse observation instruments. Employing task-oriented adaptive networking, the autonomous mothership enables coordinated missions, contributing to the acquisition of three-dimensional views of specific targets. This groundbreaking development in ocean observation showcases the vessel's capacity for deploying and retrieving various drones to facilitate comprehensive data collection.

In May 2023, ITOCHU Corporation, a Japan-based company, acquired American Hydro from Wärtsilä Corporation for an undisclosed amount. This acquisition allows ITOCHU to expand its portfolio by leveraging Wärtsilä's expertise in the field of autonomous boats. Wärtsilä Corporation is a Finland-based company that specializes in offering autonomous boats.

Major companies operating in the autonomous boats market include ABB Ltd., BAE System, Honeywell International Inc., Kongsberg Maritime, L3Harris Technology Inc., Northrop Grumman, Rolls-Royce Plc., Wärtsilä Oyj Abp, Aselsan A.S., Fugro N.V, Ulstein Group ASA, Flying Ship Technologies Corp., Marine Technologies LLC, Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding Co. Ltd., DNV GL, Sea Machines Robotics Inc., Neptec Technologies Corp., Shone Automation Inc., Buffalo Automation Inc., CargoKite, Rekise Marine Pvt. Ltd., Ladon Robotics, Unleash Future Boats, Mapsea Corp., EcoDrone, iXblue Photonics SAS.

Asia-Pacific was the largest region in the autonomous boats market in 2024. The regions covered in the autonomous boats market report are Asia-Pacific, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North America, South America, Middle East, Africa. The countries covered in the autonomous boats market report are Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Russia, South Korea, UK, USA, Canada, Italy, Spain.

Autonomous boats encompass vessels utilizing computer systems to analyze data and autonomously navigate waterways. These boats are often pre-programmed to follow a predetermined route, akin to how a crew plans a shipping course before setting sail.

The primary classifications of autonomous boats include commercial and military variants. Commercial boats carry cargo, which may include hired personnel, aboard a business vessel. The integral components consist of hardware and software incorporating carbon-neutral fuels, liquefied natural gas, electric batteries, and heavy fuel oils (HFO) among the various fuel types. These boats exhibit different levels of automation, ranging from partial automation to remote operation and full autonomy.

The autonomous boats market research report is one of a series of new reports that provides autonomous boats market statistics, including autonomous boat industry global market size, regional shares, competitors with autonomous boat market share, detailed autonomous boat market segments, market trends, and opportunities, and any further data you may need to thrive in the autonomous boat industry. This autonomous boat market research report delivers a complete perspective of everything you need, with an in-depth analysis of the current and future scenarios of the industry.

The autonomous boats market consists of revenues earned by entities by providing autonomous container ships and maritime autonomous surface ships (MASS). The market value includes the value of related goods sold by the service provider or included within the service offering. The autonomous boats market also includes sales of software programs that are used to provide autonomous boat services. Values in this market are ‘factory gate’ values, that is the value of goods sold by the manufacturers or creators of the goods, whether to other entities (including downstream manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors and retailers) or directly to end customers. The value of goods in this market includes related services sold by the creators of the goods.

The market value is defined as the revenues that enterprises gain from the sale of goods and/or services within the specified market and geography through sales, grants, or donations in terms of the currency (in USD, unless otherwise specified).

The revenues for a specified geography are consumption values that are revenues generated by organizations in the specified geography within the market, irrespective of where they are produced. It does not include revenues from resales along the supply chain, either further along the supply chain or as part of other products.

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