A vessel configured for transporting cargo can be configured to route air from an external environment through one or more fluid conduits and out one or more fluid outlets to generate a boundary layer at least partially over an external surface. The vessel can include a fluid supply system configured to pull the air from the external environment and release the air along the external surface of the hull. In response to releasing the air, drag can be reduced significantly and the vessel can travel at high speeds with a majority of the hull below a surface of a body of water.

A method for transporting carbo by water comprises loading the cargo into a cargo bay disposed within a hull of the vessel and transporting the cargo from a first port to a second port. The transporting the cargo from the first port to the second port can be performed for at least a portion of the cargo trip in a high-speed mode of operation. The high-speed mode of operation can comprise directing a first portion of air to an air-breathing engine, forming a boundary layer along an external surface of the hull with a second portion of the air, and propelling, by the air-breathing engine, the vessel with the first portion of the air being a motive fluid.

A vessel configured to transport cargo by water, includes a hull; a cargo bay disposed within the hull; and a first propulsion system comprising a rocket engine and a re-usable ignition system, the rocket engine coupled to the hull, the re-usable ignition system configured to ignite a solid propellant a plurality of distinct and separate times. The vessel can further comprise a fluid supply system configured to generate a boundary layer with a fluid over an external surface of the hull in at least one mode of operation, the fluid being different than water.

A vessel for transporting cargo by water comprises one or more propulsion devices with at least one air-breathing engine from the one or more propulsion devices disposed entirely above a surface of the water in a high-speed mode of operation. The least one air-breathing engine is configured to bleed airflow into a fluid circuit. The fluid circuit routes the bleed airflow to one or more fluid outlets disposed entirely below the surface of the water in the high-speed mode of operation. At least some of the one or more fluid outlets release the bleed airflow in the high-speed mode of operation generate a boundary layer along at least a portion of a hull of the vessel to reduce a skin friction drag thereof.