As ship designs grow more complex and dry dock schedules tighten, the physical work of docking and handling vessels is becoming one of the most consequential — and least discussed — frontiers for automation. This panel examines the mechanical systems, control systems, and real-time data driving a new discipline: autonomy in dry docking. 

Panelists will share field-tested approaches to automating docking evolutions, managing dry dock loads, and integrating naval architecture with intelligent control systems. They will also discuss how these capabilities can scale across shipyards of every size to meet the readiness demands of the future U.S. fleet. 

Attendees will learn:

• What autonomous and semi-autonomous technologies are already deployed in docking and vessel-handling operations today
• How mechanical systems, control systems, and real-time data are improving precision, repeatability, and safety in docking evolutions
• What barriers exist to adopting these systems across small, mid-sized, and large shipyards — and how they’re being addressed
• How autonomy in dry docking supports fleet readiness and aligns with defense priorities
• Where this technology is headed over the next 5–10 years 

Collaborative robots (CoBots) are making their way onto shipyard floors, and this session offers a deep dive into what that looks like in practice. A panel of industry leaders will discuss what it realistically takes to implement CoBots, how to navigate weld procedure qualifications, and how shipyards can access government-subsidized training resources. 

Speakers will share findings from a two-year implementation project, funded by the National Shipbuilding Research Program (NSRP) and led by the Shipbuilding CoBot Alliance. Framed through a welder’s perspective of what the technology delivers in a shipbuilding and repair environment, this session will cover the benefits, challenges, and the path forward from concept to qualified weld procedure. 

Attendees will:

• Hear directly from welders and shipyard leaders on what cobot implementation looks like on the shipyard floor 
• Understand the pathway from cobot evaluation to full implementation
• Learn how government-subsidized training centers can support workforce development and reduce the cost of adoption 

Robotics, automation, and other next-generation tools are unlocking new ways to build autonomous and unmanned vessels — but there’s no playbook yet. Shipyards are actively learning how to build these vessels quickly, at scale, with new tooling and a retrained workforce.  

This panel brings together the builders, shipyard operators, and technology providers doing that work to talk about what it actually takes: financing and planning major infrastructure investments, installing new tooling on the shop floor, and preparing people to run it. 

As demand grows for autonomous and unmanned vessels built faster and at greater scale, speakers will share a boots-on-the-ground view of standing up these capabilities inside new and existing yards — and what it really means to build the fleet of the future. 

Included in America’s maritime workforce shortage is a shrinking pool of design and engineering talent that makes timely, affordable naval construction possible. An aging workforce, irregular design workloads, and a thin bench of early- and mid-career naval architects have created a dangerous gap between shipbuilding ambition and executable capability. The competitive landscape has shifted, too. Foreign design entities, backed by national investment in digital engineering and model-based systems, are gaining ground. 

This session will examine the need for Congress to approve a dedicated $50 million naval architecture and ship design workforce development program, and the importance of sovereign naval vessel design capabilities to the nation’s security and the Navy’s long-range shipbuilding plans. It will also spotlight existing workforce development activities aimed at addressing this ongoing challenge.

Attendees will:

• Gain a clear picture of the current architecture and design workforce gap and the federal policy momentum behind closing it
• Learn how strategies like continuous design workloads, expanded academic pathways, apprenticeship pipelines, and training academies can prevent the expertise loss 
• Explore how early design maturity — supported by advanced digital tools — reduces change orders, compresses schedules, and sharpens competition
• Leave with actionable steps that maritime industry stakeholders can pursue now, ahead of and alongside federal policy momentum 

Most electric vs. diesel cost comparisons measure the price of retrofitting new technology into an old design. This session starts from a different premise: what happens when a vessel is built around distributed electrical architecture from the beginning? When done correctly, this approach produces a vessel that is cheaper to construct and operate than its diesel equivalent. 

To prove this finding, speakers will present validated build cost comparisons across four configurations of a 100-ton harbor assist tug: Tier 4 diesel, parallel hybrid, series hybrid, and fully electric. Learn what distributed architecture removes from a vessel, what it adds, and how it changes what’s possible at the design phase. 

Attendees will: 

• See build cost comparisons across four configurations and understand how those numbers are achieved
• Learn what distributed electrical architecture eliminates from a vessel, what it adds, and how that drives both cost and design advantages
• Evaluate ten-year ownership economics at real port duty cycles
• Understand how to evaluate distributed electric architecture as an option for your operation and choose between parallel and series hybrid configurations