REGENT Craft, Inc.

About

REGENT Craft is included on this reference site because it appears in the same Abu Dhabi advanced-mobility programmes, at the same trade events and alongside the same government partners as the emirate's eVTOL projects — but readers should be clear that a seaglider is not an eVTOL. It does not take off or land vertically, it never leaves the water's surface envelope, and it cannot use a vertiport. REGENT's own certification filing describes the seaglider as a Type A wing-in-ground-effect craft that operates exclusively over water within one wingspan of the surface, governed as a maritime vessel. In the United States that means the US Coast Guard and 46 CFR Subchapter T for small passenger vessels; internationally it means classification by Lloyd's Register for flag states. The GCAA has no documented role in the programme, and none would ordinarily be expected.

The UAE relationship is real, is government-anchored, and is still pre-physical. REGENT signed memoranda with the Abu Dhabi Investment Office and the Department of Municipalities and Transport on 25 April 2024, covering development and manufacturing support within the Smart and Autonomous Vehicle Industry cluster and integration of seaglider services into the emirate's transport network. On 26 February 2025 REGENT and the Strategic Development Fund — an EDGE Group company that had already invested in REGENT in 2023 and increased its stake in 2024 — announced an initial agreement to form a joint venture for seaglider manufacturing, maintenance, repair, overhaul and crew training in the UAE, serving the Middle East, Africa and beyond. SDF's own announcement makes clear that the agreement remains subject to regulatory approvals and closing conditions and that further SDF investment would follow successful establishment. No site, floor area, capital figure or construction start has been disclosed by either party.

Two commercial threads sit on top of that industrial base. On 28 January 2025 REGENT announced that ADNOC Logistics and Services had selected Viceroy seagliders for offshore energy logistics under a time charter with a local Abu Dhabi operator, and on 20 May 2025, at Make it in the Emirates, ADNOC L&S published its own release confirming a proof-of-concept trial to evaluate seagliders for moving personnel to and from offshore infrastructure, described as the first phase of a potential multi-stage deployment. Neither release states a number of craft or a trial date. At Dubai Airshow 2025 REGENT exhibited at the Strategic Development Fund stand and announced a memorandum of understanding with DHL Express, dated 19 November 2025, to explore electric seaglider cargo routes in the Middle East from January 2026. The DHL agreement is explicitly exploratory and non-binding.

Nothing has yet operated in Emirati waters. Every seaglider test REGENT has published takes place off Rhode Island: sea trials of the full-scale twelve-passenger prototype began in Narragansett Bay on 6 March 2025, and the company's update of 11 March 2026 records that it is still continuing the hydrofoiling campaign and only 'progressing toward first flight with humans on board this year', with first customer deliveries expected in 2027 and its 255,000 square foot Rhode Island factory opening in the summer of 2026. On the regulatory side REGENT submitted a Design Basis Agreement to the US Coast Guard on 20 March 2025, the step that establishes safety-equivalency requirements for a novel design; the UAE-side equivalent is described in REGENT's and SDF's announcements as work with Lloyd's Register and the UAE Marine Transport Affairs Department on maritime certification, and no completed UAE approval has been announced.

One nearby government announcement should not be attached to REGENT without evidence. On 6 February 2026 the Abu Dhabi Government Media Office announced that the Department of Culture and Tourism had signed an agreement with VERSA Advanced Maritime Services to introduce seaglider operations across the emirate by 2028, initially linking Abu Dhabi City and the Al Dhafra Region, with VERSA described as the first seaglider operator in the UAE. That announcement names no manufacturer. It is recorded here as context for the emirate's seaglider ambitions, not as a REGENT contract, and the relationship between VERSA and REGENT — if any — is unestablished.

Connected entities

Frequently asked questions

Sources

1. [regent-sdf-jv] REGENT — REGENT Signs Initial Agreement with Strategic Development Fund to Set Up a Joint Venture for Seaglider Manufacturing and Services in the UAE operator-ir · accessed 2026-07-28
2. [sdf-regent-jv] Strategic Development Fund — Strategic Development Fund Signs Initial Agreement with REGENT to Set Up a Joint Venture for Seaglider Manufacturing and Services in the UAE government · accessed 2026-07-28
3. [regent-adio-dot-mous] REGENT — REGENT Advances the Future of Coastal Transportation in Abu Dhabi operator-ir · accessed 2026-07-28
4. [adnocls-regent-poc] ADNOC L&S — ADNOC L&S Partners with REGENT to Trial High-Speed Electric Seagliders for Offshore Transportation official-news · accessed 2026-07-28
5. [regent-uscg-dba] REGENT — REGENT Submits Design Basis Agreement to U.S. Coast Guard, Advancing Seaglider Certification operator-ir · accessed 2026-07-28
6. [regent-sea-trials] REGENT — REGENT Begins Sea Trials of First Passenger-Carrying Seaglider operator-ir · accessed 2026-07-28
7. [regent-2026-test-campaign] REGENT — REGENT kicks off 2026 Seaglider test campaign operator-ir · accessed 2026-07-28
8. [regent-dhl-dubai-airshow] REGENT — REGENT and DHL Express Sign Agreement for Sustainable Cargo Logistics operator-ir · accessed 2026-07-28
9. [regent-dubai-airshow-preview] REGENT — REGENT to Reveal the Future of Maritime Mobility at Dubai Airshow operator-ir · accessed 2026-07-28
10. [adgov-dct-versa-seaglider] Abu Dhabi Government Media Office — DCT Abu Dhabi signs agreement with VERSA Advanced Maritime Services to introduce Seaglider operations across emirate by 2028 government · accessed 2026-07-28
11. [regent-adnocls-selection] REGENT — ADNOC L&S Selects REGENT Seagliders for Offshore Energy Logistics in the UAE operator-ir · accessed 2026-07-28

Verification flags

• A seaglider is not an eVTOL. It is a Type A wing-in-ground-effect maritime vessel and cannot use a vertiport; this entry exists for institutional overlap with Abu Dhabi's advanced-mobility programme, not technical equivalence.
• No seaglider has been tested or operated in UAE waters. All REGENT testing documented by the company is in Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island.
• As of REGENT's own update of 11 March 2026 the Viceroy prototype had still not flown with people aboard; first crewed ground-effect flight remained a 2026 goal.
• The Abu Dhabi joint venture with SDF is an initial agreement subject to regulatory approvals and closing conditions. No completion, no site, no floor area, no capital figure and no construction start have been announced by either party.
• Coordinates given are Abu Dhabi city centre as a placeholder. No primary source discloses a facility location; the seed note's 'Abu Dhabi Island' has no primary basis.
• The Abu Dhabi DCT agreement with VERSA Advanced Maritime Services (6 February 2026) for seaglider operations by 2028 names no manufacturer. It is not published here as a REGENT contract, and any VERSA-REGENT link is unestablished.
• Claims of an Abu Dhabi to Dubai seaglider crossing 'in 25 minutes' and of more than 1,000 jobs appear in newspaper coverage only. REGENT's own April 2024 release names Dalma Island, Sir Bani Yas Island and possible Abu Dhabi to Ras Al Khaimah connectivity, not Abu Dhabi to Dubai. Not published.
• The ADNOC L&S proof-of-concept states no number of craft, no trial date and no location for the trial.
• The DHL Express agreement of 19 November 2025 is a non-binding memorandum to explore feasibility, not a service contract.
• REGENT's order-book figures (over USD 9 billion in April 2024, over USD 10 billion in March 2026) are company-stated and unaudited; the UAE share of that book is not disclosed.
• No UAE maritime certification, flag-state approval or Marine Transport Affairs Department decision has been announced; the relationship is described only as ongoing work with Lloyd's Register and that department.
• REGENT's Dubai Airshow 2025 release does not state whether the exhibit was a full-scale mock-up or a smaller model.