The Colombian Navy has announced the first seizure of an unmanned semi-submersible designed for drug trafficking, intercepted off the Caribbean coast near Santa Marta and revealed on 2 July 2025. The low-profile vessel was outfitted with a Starlink satellite antenna, cameras and automated navigation systems that allowed it to be steered remotely without a crew on board. Although the grey craft was empty when captured, naval engineers estimate it could carry up to 1.5 tonnes of cocaine and travel roughly 800 nautical miles. The interception was carried out under the Multinational Orión strategy, which coordinates anti-narcotics efforts among dozens of countries. Investigators attribute the vessel to the Clan del Golfo, Colombia’s largest trafficking network, and believe it was undergoing sea trials as part of the group’s push toward crew-less smuggling methods that reduce the risk of arrests and losses. Vice-Admiral Juan Ricardo Rozo said the find shows criminal organisations are “migrating toward more sophisticated, harder-to-detect systems.” Naval authorities warn that at least ten similar unmanned craft have been detected in the Americas this year, underscoring a technological arms race at sea. Colombian law imposes sentences of up to 14 years for the construction or use of such semi-submersibles, and officials pledged to step up patrols and intelligence to counter the new threat.