Saronic Selects Port of Gulfport for Marauder On-Water Testing

Saronic has expanded its operations to Gulfport, Mississippi, establishing an initial site for on-water testing of the company’s medium unmanned surface vessel (MUSV), Marauder, at the Port of Gulfport.

As production of Saronic’s Marauder platform continues to scale, the site will support testing and commissioning of the 180-foot autonomous ships as they move from production to final delivery.

The Saronic facility at the Port of Gulfport spans more than 30,000 square feet and includes dedicated port access, office space, and warehouse space that can support Saronic’s growing operations. The company’s local team includes mission operations and commissioning specialists, who are responsible for taking each Marauder through final end-of-line tests and on-water trials.

Saronic’s first Marauder, which was designed and launched in less than a year, arrived at Gulfport in mid-July and is already undergoing testing at the site. Since its arrival, the vessel has logged hundreds of hours of on-water testing, with trials running 12+ hours a day, seven days a week.

Additional Marauders are already under construction at Saronic’s shipyard in Franklin, Louisiana, and will follow the same path to Gulfport as production ramps.

“Gulfport has developed an incredible ecosystem of partners across industry, academia, and government to advance the future of maritime systems,” said Dino Mavrookas, Co-Founder and CEO of Saronic. “With a long legacy in shipbuilding, fabrication, and offshore operations, Gulfport is an ideal location to support the testing and commissioning of Marauder as we scale production and deliver autonomous ships to our defense and commercial partners.”

The state of Mississippi has spent years building the conditions that unmanned maritime systems require, having the foresight to invest ahead of market demand. The Mississippi State Port Authority developed the state-owned port into a growing deepwater container gateway and partnered with the University of Southern Mississippi to build a research center on its working waterfront specifically for uncrewed maritime systems. The result is a coastline where Saronic could arrive and find the pieces already in place to launch a dedicated MUSV test site.