Hawai'i ship design company Navatek Ltd. yesterday showed off some of the unmanned vessel technology it is developing for the U.S. and Singapore navies, as well as special operations warfare boat designs, as it continues to expand in the military market.

U.S. Sen. Daniel K. Inouye, D-Hawai'i, donned a welder's jacket, hat, glove and mask, meanwhile, to assist in laying the first joining weld on the keel of a 65-foot research vessel, the Kuapa Ray.

The $2.2 million vessel, being built by Navatek, will serve as a research platform for the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Navy in Florida to improve port and harbor security.

The Kuapa Ray is expected to be completed in about a year.

Inouye said Navatek President Steven Loui "has demonstrated that you can conceive an idea in Hawai'i, you can design an idea in Hawai'i, you can produce an idea in Hawai'i, and come out with something that is so superior that Singapore says, 'This is what we want.' "

The company, which operates at Pier 41, said it is completing construction on a 9-meter (29.5-foot) "unmanned surface vessel," or USV, for Singapore worth $350,000.

An award is pending for the delivery of another 9-meter USV to Singapore for $450,000, officials said.

This summer, Navatek delivered to the U.S. Navy two 11-meter USVs worth $3.7 million, with pending orders for two more. The unmanned vessels will be used on the Navy's Littoral Combat Ships that are now in testing.

"The value of unmanned and semi-autonomous vehicles to the military is immense," Loui said. "Outfitted with sensors and weapons, they can perform dangerous missions without risking human lives."

All of the unmanned boats have Navatek's proprietary "entrapment tunnel monohull" design that the company says provides a stable ride and allows for high payloads.

In the last two years, the firm has landed four contracts worth $6.7 million.

Eric Schiff, vice president for special projects with Navatek, said a big project may add to that worth — a $6 million possible deal to build a 160-foot ship for the Navy with "bow lifting" technology also utilized on the Kuapa Ray.

The technology improves seakeeping and fuel efficiency, Navatek said. Officials said the ship would be built in partnership with a Mainland shipyard, but some of the technology would be added in Hawai'i.

Schiff said Navatek is unique in the United States.

"There's not another company in the country that does the applied marine science that we do," Schiff said. A lot of companies do marine engineering and marine analysis, but "we actually do applied science — we build our technologies."

Navatek also is applying its bow and stern wing-like lifting-body technology to smooth out the ride of high-speed boats used by Navy SEAL commandos.

Navatek has built commercial vessels in Hawai'i in the past. The company is a privately owned subsidiary of Pacific Marine, which also owns Pacific Shipyards International.