A technological push for the adoption of unmanned surface vessels is afoot in the marine industry, keeping abreast with the developments in the land and aviation transportation sector. The adoption of technology has the potential to improve efficiency and safety of operations, to transfer onshore human activity relating to vessel control and to make working conditions for ‘crew’ more appealing. Houlder Ltd, with its entrenched vessel and equipment design competencies serving the marine, offshore and defense sectors, has designed the concept of an unmanned surface vessel for offshore operations and maintenance. The project has been undertaken jointly with automation and control and marine logistics experts in the U.K. This paper presents the Houlder unmanned surface vessel concept design, delivering units of cargo to an offshore windfarm monopile platform. The project has been devised as part of the (Windfarm Autonomous Ship) project supported by Innovate UK and other project partners. Decoupling onboard human intervention from vessel operation has prompted rethinking on the vessel layout and re-examination of the suitability of current regulations. The design considerations have revised the spatial requirements and machinery systems for the unmanned and intended function. Further, the design has incorporated an innovative cargo handling.