Sea.AI, a leader in AI-powered maritime safety solutions, announce the integration of its Sentry system into the first three AIRCAT Crew Transfer Vessels, marking a significant milestone in offshore navigational safety. This collaboration represents a major step forward in leveraging artificial intelligence to enhance maritime safety and operational efficiency.
Designed for crew transfers in offshore industries such as wind farms and oil & gas installations, these vessels use powerful fans to generate an air cushion between the catamaran hulls. This unique vessel design, called a “Surface Effect Ship” or SES, minimizes hull drag and resistance to reduce emissions and enhance speed and efficiency. Now, these innovative vessels come with the added intelligence of Sea.AI’s Sentry system for enhanced situational awareness at sea.
The AIRCAT 35 Crewliner Series are 35-metre and 80-passenger vessels that achieve speeds of up to 53 knots, making them the World’s Fastest Crew Transfer Vessels. With the integration of Sea.AI’s Sentry, these vessels now have an extra layer of safety, security, and operational intelligence.
“From the very start, we saw the immense potential of machine vision technology for maritime safety. It was only natural for us to integrate such innovative and proven technology into our vessels,” said Jérôme Arnold, CEO of AIRCAT Vessels. “With the speeds and operational environments we navigate, having Sea.AI’s Sentry onboard is not just an upgrade—it’s a game-changer for safety and efficiency.”
Sentry provides 24-hour, 360-degree surveillance all the way to the horizon, even in the most adverse conditions. Leveraging high-performance thermal and optical sensors paired with AI-driven object detection, target tracking, and collision avoidance, the system automatically classifies a wide range of objects including floating debris, rafts, buoys, boats not equipped with AIS, and persons overboard.
“The integration of our Sentry system into AIRCAT vessels underscores our commitment to making maritime operations safer and smarter,” said Marcus Warrelmann, CEO of Sea.AI. “Whether it’s detecting potential hazards, tracking a person overboard, or enhancing situational awareness, our AI-driven technology provides a new level of confidence for operators working in offshore environments.”
“The Sentry system provides additional navigational safety, allowing us to detect thermal differences even in poor visibility conditions. This is crucial for spotting fires, monitoring non-visible heat sources, and even detecting people in the water during search and rescue operations.” said Eduard Ercegovic, Technical Director at Aircat Vessels and Master Mariner.
