UK Receives First ROUV Certification; PIONEER Becomes First Vessel to Achieve Compliance

Lloyd’s Register (LR) has issued the UK’s first certification for a remotely operated and unmanned vessel (ROUV) under the Maritime and Coastguard Agency’s (MCA) Workboat Code Edition 3 (WBC3) Annex 2, with hydrogen-powered PIONEER from ACUA Ocean becoming the first vessel to achieve compliance.

Introduced by the MCA in December 2023, the WBC3 requirements set out safety and operational standards for ROUVs operating in UK waters. LR was the first certifying authority to be authorised by the MCA to issue certificates under Annex 2 and now becomes the first to complete a full certification process for an operational ROUV.  

The certification supports PIONEER’s upcoming sea trials under the UK Clean Maritime Demonstrator Competition (CMDC), which showcases innovative technologies aimed at accelerating maritime decarbonisation. ACUA Ocean plans to complete CMDC trial activities under hydrogen operation before undertaking further development work on hybrid and electric variants of PIONEER.  

Developed by Plymouth-based ACUA Ocean, PIONEER is a hydrogen-powered, long-endurance uncrewed surface vessel (USV) designed for offshore surveillance, monitoring, and inspection.

PIONEER features an integrated hydrogen fuel cell propulsion system, advanced autonomous navigation, remote command capabilities, and a modular design tailored to a variety of offshore operations, such as environmental monitoring, maritime domain awareness, and offshore infrastructure inspection.

LR continues to work with operators across the ROUV and autonomous vessel community and expects to issue further WBC3 Annex 2 certifications in the months ahead.