The Mayflower Autonomous Ship (MAS), which had to abandon its transatlantic crossing in June due to a mechanical fault, has been relaunched ahead of a next attempt at a UK to US voyage in spring 2022.
With the vessel back in the water, the MAS team said it will resume its testing and scientific research schedule.
A series of cruises along the UK coast are planned for this autumn and winter, before the next attempt on the Atlantic crossing.
The vessel had to return to Plymouth three days into its voyage after an issue which led to a loss of full power and speed. Back in dock, the problem was found to have been caused by a fracture in the flexible metal coupling between the ship’s generator and exhaust system.
The MAS has a hybrid propulsion system mainly drawing energy from solar panels, but an on-board generator automatically switches on to top up the battery when required.
Before the breakdown, the vessel had cruised at an average speed of 7 knots over 450 nautical miles (830 km).
Science teams associated with the equipment installed on the vessel said it will continue collecting and analysing data to establish the methodology of using autonomous platforms for oceanographic surveys and research during tests and the replanned Atlantic crossing.
The journey was originally planned to celebrate the 400-year anniversary of the original Mayflower crossing of the Atlantic in 2020, but it was delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic.
