Six Maritime

Six Maritime We provide maritime security services and training for security and maritime professionals throughout the United States and across the globe.

Founded with a mission to provide unparalleled maritime security, Six Maritime has grown significantly over the past few years. Headquartered in San Diego, with a presence in Jacksonville, FL, we’ve expanded our waterborne security services to support U.S. naval vessels, private shipyards, and large-scale events. We pride ourselves in our subject matter expertise in security services compliant wit

h the NAVSEA 009-72 and Fleet Forces Guidance. Our focus also extends to training courses, equipping security professionals and mariners with the skills they need to succeed in high-stakes environments. Looking ahead, Six Maritime is eager to broaden our reach into new regions and continue enhancing our innovative offerings to meet the dynamic needs of our clients.

08/20/2026

Today’s reported engagement of an explosive-laden unmanned surface vessel near Romania’s Neptun Deep gas project is another indication of how quickly the security environment around ports, offshore energy facilities, and other critical maritime infrastructure is changing.

According to current reporting, two Romanian F-16s responded after the USV was discovered approximately 80 nautical miles east of Constanța. One aircraft engaged it with its onboard cannon, damaging the vessel. Romanian maritime forces subsequently completed the response and rendered it safe. The drone’s origin has not been conclusively established.

Romania has already begun investing in persistent maritime surveillance. Following an earlier USV incident near Constanța, Romanian authorities reportedly acquired two Ocean Aero Triton autonomous underwater and surface vehicles. These platforms can remain on station for extended periods while collecting information above and below the water.

That is a smart step, but the platform itself is only one part of the solution.

Effective counter-USV and counter-UUV defense requires a layered system that can detect, track, classify, and respond to a contact before it reaches the asset being protected. It also requires trained operators who can interpret sensor data, maintain positive human control, coordinate with security and law-enforcement authorities, and select a response proportionate to the threat.

A fighter aircraft can respond quickly, but it should not have to be the routine answer to a relatively inexpensive maritime drone. Persistent autonomous surveillance, a shared operating picture, trained watchstanders, and manned or unmanned response vessels can provide an earlier and more sustainable layer of protection, while preserving high-end military assets for the threats that truly require them.

That is the operating concept behind Six Maritime’s Base Defense Security Unit: a vendor-neutral, man-in-the-loop capability that integrates the best available sensors and autonomous systems with experienced maritime operators, maintainers, and response crews.

The technology already exists. The real challenge is integrating it into an operational system that can protect critical infrastructure every day, not simply demonstrating another platform.

Romania, if you’re listening, we may know some people.

Video credit: Rerum Novarum via Telegram.

08/14/2026

After two weeks of Mk VI Patrol Boat operations, our crew wrapped up its support to Exercise Northern Strike today.

The exercise brought together an impressive mix of maritime and aviation capabilities, including Marine Corps aircraft and crews from MCAS Cherry Point, Coast Guard helicopters, and A-10s from the Michigan Air National Guard. The video captures some of the close coordination and great flyovers our crew experienced on the water.

Captain Don De Leo probably summarized the two weeks best: “I gave them boys a run for their money on the Mark VI.”

Don also had high praise for Engineer Ryan and Crewman Brian, who were on point throughout the exercise and made a strong impression on the Michigan Air National Guard personnel they worked alongside. Before wrapping up, Don presented Six Maritime challenge coins to several of the service members who helped make the experience such a good one.

Exercises like Northern Strike are valuable because of the training, but they are also about the relationships built among the people doing the work. We are proud of Don, Ryan, and Brian for representing Six Maritime so well and grateful to everyone who welcomed our crew into the team.

From August 11–12, members of Six Maritime’s Jacksonville team supported a mobile waterborne security operation for USS ...
08/13/2026

From August 11–12, members of Six Maritime’s Jacksonville team supported a mobile waterborne security operation for USS TORTUGA during the ship’s port visit to Morehead City, North Carolina.

Our Jacksonville supervisors, Stacey and Jerry, helped lead the on-water effort, bringing the experience and operational discipline required to mobilize personnel and equipment on short notice and execute safely in an active port environment.

This type of support reflects an important part of Six Maritime’s mission: providing experienced maritime professionals who can rapidly augment security requirements wherever and whenever they arise. We appreciate the entire team whose coordination and flexibility made the operation possible.

08/09/2026

Six Maritime personnel are underway aboard the Mk VI Patrol Boat in support of the Michigan Air National Guard during Exercise Northern Strike.

The exercise has provided an opportunity to operate the Mk VI alongside a range of autonomous technologies, including both unmanned aerial vehicles and unmanned surface vessels. This type of integration is important because autonomous systems do not operate in isolation. Their effectiveness ultimately depends on how well they are incorporated into broader maritime operations alongside crewed platforms, trained personnel, communications networks, and established command-and-control structures.

The Mk VI provides a capable operational platform for supporting this work on the water. Our crew’s role is to safely operate and sustain the vessel while enabling exercise participants to test how emerging technologies can be employed under realistic maritime conditions.

For Six Maritime, this is exactly where experience matters: bringing together capable mariners, established platforms, and new technologies to help translate experimentation into practical operational capability.

We are proud to support the Michigan Air National Guard and the broader Northern Strike team.

Photos and video courtesy of Don De Leo.

Six Maritime was honored to welcome Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao and members of his staff to our San Diego head...
08/09/2026

Six Maritime was honored to welcome Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao and members of his staff to our San Diego headquarters on Friday.

The visit provided an opportunity to discuss how Six Maritime is approaching the protection of high-value naval assets and coastal installations against a rapidly changing threat environment. Our team shared several of the security initiatives we are developing, along with our broader approach to combining experienced maritime operators, advanced technology, and practical operating concepts.

We believe modern maritime security must improve protection while remaining logistically sustainable, cost-conscious, and executable by the people responsible for carrying out the mission. It should also help reduce the burden placed on uniformed personnel wherever qualified industry partners can provide effective support.

We are grateful to Acting Secretary Cao and his staff for taking the time to meet with our team, hear our perspective, and recognize the work being done across Six Maritime.

Leading the Next Generation of Maritime Security.
Logistically simple, technologically advanced.

07/30/2026

Recent events in Egypt and Romania provide another reminder that autonomous systems are rapidly becoming part of the maritime security environment, not just in military operations, but in the protection of commercial ports and critical infrastructure.

Following reports that an unmanned aerial system struck a U.S.-owned floating regasification unit (FSRU) and storage vessel at Egypt's Damietta Port, attention has understandably focused on the attack itself. At nearly the same time, the Port of Constanța announced the acquisition of autonomous Triton sea drones to patrol the waters surrounding the port following recent drone activity in the region. While the circumstances are different, together they point toward the same trend: the maritime operating environment is changing.

For years, conversations surrounding maritime autonomy centered on future military capabilities. Today, that discussion is expanding well beyond defense. Commercial ports, LNG terminals, offshore energy infrastructure, shipyards, and other critical maritime assets are beginning to recognize that autonomous systems can play a meaningful role in surveillance, maritime domain awareness, and force protection. As these technologies continue to mature, their adoption across both the public and private sectors will only accelerate.

The more important conversation, however, is no longer "What autonomous platform should we buy?" It is "How do we successfully integrate autonomous systems into everyday maritime operations?"

Those are fundamentally different questions.

Acquiring a platform is relatively straightforward. Building an organization capable of employing it effectively is considerably more challenging. It requires doctrine, training, maintenance, logistics, command-and-control, human-machine teaming, and clearly defined operational procedures. Without those elements, even the most capable autonomous system becomes another piece of equipment rather than a meaningful operational capability.

The organizations that gain the greatest advantage over the coming decade will not necessarily be those that purchase autonomous systems first. They will be the ones that learn how to integrate them into existing maritime operations in a way that improves situational awareness, enhances security, and complements the people already performing the mission.

As these recent events demonstrate, the conversation surrounding maritime autonomy is steadily moving beyond technology itself. The focus is becoming operational integration and that is where the next generation of maritime capability will ultimately be defined.

Video source: Footage shared via Rerum Novarum (Telegram)

Last week, Six Maritime was honored to host members of the Surface Navy Association at our San Diego headquarters for an...
07/29/2026

Last week, Six Maritime was honored to host members of the Surface Navy Association at our San Diego headquarters for an evening of professional engagement and discussion.



It was a privilege to welcome naval leaders from across the Southwest waterfront, including representatives from Commander, Navy Region Southwest; Navy Personnel Command; Navy Base San Diego; DESRON ONE; Surface Development Group ONE; USS GERMANTOWN; and other members of the Navy and maritime community.

The maritime domain is evolving rapidly. From fleet readiness and force generation to autonomous systems, industrial base resilience, and maritime security, the challenges ahead demand strong collaboration between operational leaders, industry, and the organizations supporting the Fleet.

As the maritime industry continues to adapt to emerging technologies and evolving operational demands, forums like these remain essential to building the partnerships and shared understanding that will shape the future of maritime operations. Six Maritime is proud to be part of that conversation.

Thank you to the Surface Navy Association for allowing us to host this gathering, and thank you to everyone who joined us. We appreciate your leadership, your service, and your continued commitment to the Sailors and missions that keep our nation secure.

We look forward to continuing to support the U.S. Navy, our industry partners, and the maritime community in the years ahead.

At Six Maritime, we believe separating service members bring something that can't be taught in a classroom: leadership, ...
07/22/2026

At Six Maritime, we believe separating service members bring something that can't be taught in a classroom: leadership, adaptability, sound judgment, and real operational experience. Our goal is to help transitioning service members translate their operational experience into careers supporting maritime security, vessel operations, and next-generation autonomous systems.

We're excited to offer two SkillBridge fellowship tracks:

⚓ Maritime Operations & Training Fellow
Support vessel operations, maritime security initiatives, and defense training while gaining hands-on experience with an experienced operational team.

🤖 Maritime Autonomy & Uncrewed Systems Fellow
Work alongside professionals integrating autonomous and uncrewed maritime technologies into real-world operations, demonstrations, and mission support.

Whether your background is in operations, engineering, logistics, maintenance, intelligence, or technology, we're looking for people who want to help shape what's next. The future of maritime security will require more than new platforms; it will require experienced people who understand how to employ them effectively.

If you're transitioning from military service and are interested in applying your experience to the next generation of maritime operations, we'd love to hear from you.

Visit SkillBridge.mil and search Six Maritime to learn more.

07/20/2026

History rarely announces a technological shift with a single event. Instead, it reveals itself through a series of operations that collectively change how we think about warfare. The recent USV strike against the AVERO in the Black Sea and the U.S. employment of autonomous maritime systems in operations against Iran are two such moments.

Combined with recent U.S. operations employing autonomous maritime systems in the Middle East, a clear pattern is beginning to emerge: autonomous systems are changing the maritime domain and the organizations that understand how to employ them effectively will hold a significant advantage.

The discussion, however, should not begin and end with one-way attack USVs. History tells us that every successful military technology quickly evolves beyond its initial application. Maritime autonomy will be no different.

We're already seeing the foundation for a much broader family of missions:
Persistent maritime ISR and maritime domain awareness
Harbor and critical infrastructure security
Counter-intrusion and force protection
Autonomous screening and es**rt operations
Mine countermeasures
Logistics and contested resupply
Teaming between crewed and uncrewed vessels
Integrated operations between USVs, UAVs, and UUVs
Distributed sensor networks that dramatically expand situational awareness

Perhaps one of the more interesting developments will be the increasing integration of multiple autonomous domains. A USV deploying or controlling a tethered UAV can extend its sensor horizon while reducing dependence on vulnerable RF links. USVs coordinating with UUVs can combine above- and below-water sensing into a single operational picture. Human operators become mission commanders rather than vehicle operators.

As these concepts mature, so will defensive tactics.

Ports, naval bases, commercial shipping, offshore energy infrastructure, and critical maritime facilities will need layered approaches that combine traditional security with autonomous surveillance, detection, classification, tracking, and response. Success will depend less on the platforms themselves and more on the concepts, tactics, and operational frameworks that allow them to be employed effectively.

Technology alone isn't enough.

Success will come from developing the tactics, techniques, procedures, logistics, training, maintenance, testing, and operational concepts that allow these systems to perform reliably in complex maritime environments.

At Six Maritime, we believe the future belongs to organizations that bridge the gap between innovative autonomous technologies and practical maritime operations. Whether supporting testing and evaluation, operational demonstrations, maritime security, or the development of next-generation concepts of operation, our focus remains the same:
-Turning promising technology into operational capability.
-The future of maritime security won't be defined by a single autonomous vessel.
-It will be defined by integrated autonomous systems working alongside experienced maritime professionals.

Source: Security Service of Ukraine (SBU).

This week, Six Maritime's VP of Growth, Strategy, and Partnerships, Kim, spent time in Virginia Beach meeting with memb...
07/18/2026

This week, Six Maritime's VP of Growth, Strategy, and Partnerships, Kim, spent time in Virginia Beach meeting with members of our East Coast offshore support team and engaging with industry and government partners as we continue expanding our operational support capabilities.

One of the highlights of the trip was bringing together many of the captains who represent Six Maritime on the East Coast, alongside longtime maritime professional Rick Grimaldi. While our vessels and equipment are important, our greatest strength has always been the experienced mariners behind every mission.

Whether supporting autonomous system demonstrations, offshore testing, vessel operations, maritime security, or specialized government missions, our crews provide the professionalism, operational expertise, and commitment that our customers depend on every day.

As Six Maritime continues to grow, we're committed to investing in the people and partnerships that make mission success possible.

A sincere thank you to our Virginia Beach team for everything you do. We appreciate your dedication and look forward to what's ahead!

Address

1712 Logan Avenue
San Diego, CA
92113

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Six Maritime posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Six Maritime:

Shortcuts

Share

Category