Lloyd's Maritime and Commercial Law Quarterly
THE INTEGRATION OF UNMANNED SHIPS INTO THE LEX MARITIMA
Robert Veal*
Michael Tsimplis†
The state of technology is such that unmanned ships are now a realistic prospect. This includes remote-controlled ships and fully autonomous ships. The operation of each presents unique challenges to regulators and other users of the sea. This article considers the ways in which unmanned ships may be integrated within the existing maritime regulatory framework and assesses the ability of such ships and their operators to comply with its requirements. The article argues that, because the onboard presence of seafarers is not an express prerequisite to “ship” status, under the various available definitions of the term, unmanned “ships” could be accommodated within the existing legal framework with small modifications. It argues that the level of autonomy of an unmanned ship has a profound bearing on its ability to comply with the requirements of this framework and that regulatory guidance on safe unmanned operations and the development of international consensus is essential in order to facilitate the use of the technology in world trade. To the extent that the new technology is commercially beneficial, its use will prevail and either a regulatory regime will need to be developed or the existing one will need to be adjusted. Within this context it is suggested that the main existing legal framework can be interpreted in a way that permits the inclusion of ships into the existing framework and that this is the easier way forward.
* Research Fellow, Institute of Maritime Law, University of Southampton.
† Professor of Law and Ocean Sciences, School of Law, University of Southampton.
The following abbreviations are used:
Brown & Gaskell: ED Brown and NJJ Gaskell, The Operation of Autonomous Underwater Vehicles, Vol. 2: Report on the Law (Society of Underwater Technology, London, 2000);
Jokioinen et al: E Jokioinen et al, Advanced Autonomous Waterborne Applications (AAWA) Position Paper, Remote and Autonomous Ships: The Next Steps” (Rolls Royce, 2016) available at www.rolls-royce.com/~/media/Files/R/Rolls-Royce/documents/customers/marine/ship-intel/aawa-whitepaper-210616.pdf;
Marsden & Gault: S Gault et al, Marsden and Gault on Collisions at Sea, 14th edn (Sweet & Maxwell, London, 2016);
SARUMS Guide: M Ornfelt et al, Best Practice Guide for Unmanned Maritime Systems Handling, Operations, Design and Regulations (SARUMS, Brussels, 2015);
Serdy, Tsimplis & Veal: A Serdy, M Tsimplis, R Veal et al, Liability for Operation in Unmanned Maritime Vehicles with Differing Levels of Autonomy (European Defence Agency, Brussels, 2016) (available from Paul O’Brien of the EDA at paul.obrien@eda.europa.eu);
UKMIA Code: UK Marine Industries Alliance, Being a Responsible Industry, An Industry Code of Conduct for Marine Autonomous Systems (UKMIA, London, 2015).
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