AI incident #1561 ·
U.S. Navy Unmanned Vessel Reportedly Capsized Support Boat After Receiving Inadvertent Command
What happened
During U.S. Navy testing at Channel Islands Harbor Marina on June 23, 2025, an unmanned vessel under tow reportedly received an inadvertent command and accelerated, capsizing the support boat and throwing its captain into the water. Emergency responders reportedly recovered the captain, who declined medical attention. The incident was reportedly attributed to software failures and human error, including communication breakdowns between onboard systems and external autonomy software.
Only the incident metadata is stored here. The underlying news reports are on the AI Incident Database (CC BY-SA 4.0); use the links above to read them.
News reports (1)
Coverage catalogued by the AI Incident Database. Titles link to the original publisher; the text is not reproduced here.
Who was involved
- Alleged deployer
- United States Navy, United States Armed Forces, Naval Forces, Military Organizations, Military Autonomous Systems Operators
- Alleged developer
- Unmanned Surface Vessel Manufacturers, Defense Technology Companies, Blacksea Technologies, Autonomous Maritime Systems Developers
- Alleged harmed party
- Watercraft, Vessel Operators, Support Boats, Maritime Workers
Classification (MIT AI Risk Repository taxonomy)
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