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Unmanned shipping
Examining the management, safety and regulation
of autonomous vessels
Contents
With the world’s first fully-autonomous container ship expected to sail in the next few years,
driverless vessels are set to be a game changer in the industry, particularly in terms of companies
meeting financial and environmental targets. Technological, legal and regulatory developments
are gathering speed to make these unmanned ships a reality.

This collection of extracts combines recent articles from Shipping and Trade Law and Lloyd’s
Maritime and Commercial Law Quarterly, as well as other sources on i-law.com, to provide some
background to these issues, summarise what the current law is, and explore the risks which need
to be recognised and overcome.

3 Unmanned ships on the IMO work agenda 5 Objective and subjective safety
Upon request from a group of nine co-sponsoring in unmanned shipping
states, the Maritime Safety Committee of the Unmanned ships must be as safe as possible
International Maritime Organization at its to ensure that they are adopted and operate
98th meeting in London agreed to add the successfully. To objectively consider unmanned
issue of the regulation of unmanned ships ships safe, appropriate laws must apply, and,
to its work agenda, writes Robert Veal. in order to ensure that they do, definitions of
Shipping & Trade Law, June 2017, (2017) 17 STL 5 1 autonomy have to be agreed upon between
lawyers and engineers, writes Hannah Stones.
4 The integration of unmanned Shipping & Trade Law, November 2016, (2016) 16 STL 9 4
ships into the lex maritima
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, writes Robert Veal and Michael Tsimplis.
Lloyd’s Maritime and Commercial Law
Quarterly, [2017] LMCLQ 303
Shipping & Trade Law, June 2017, (2017) 17 STL 5 1

Unmanned ships on the IMO work agenda

Upon request from a group of nine co-sponsoring states, the Maritime Safety Committee of the
International Maritime Organization at its 98th meeting in London agreed to add the issue of the
regulation of unmanned ships to its work agenda. The regulatory scoping exercise will consider
the extent to which the existing corpus of IMO regulations is suitable for the introduction of
unmanned ships, writes Robert Veal.

Technology in the maritime sector
is developing at an exponential
rate and this has led to an increase
in the number of craft capable of
navigating the seas without any
personnel on board. This capability
is achieved in a number of ways.
Some unmanned ships are remote
controlled by shore-based personnel
using computer and joystick,
facilitated by radio communications.
Other unmanned ships are instead
“autonomous” insofar as they are
pre-programmed to a set navigational
course and destination and can follow
these instructions without human
intervention. Spatial awareness is
Insurance industry must collaborate to create framework for
autonomous ships
In August 2017 the Australian Maritime Safety Authority granted a request for the operation
of remotely operated unmanned ships in Australian waters. Australia joins Finland and
Norway, whose governments have designated areas for testing autonomous technology in
ships. Like autonomous cars, it appears crewless ships will soon be in service. The insurance
industry will play a key role in enabling this – adapting existing insurance requirements will
be the biggest obstacle to the wider adoption of such vessels.
Industry experts canvassed by Insurance Day said it was vital the sector works with
regulators to create an insurance framework that reflects the development of crewless
shipping. Ståle Hansen of marine insurer Skuld, said: “The technology is here now, we need
to be working in parallel with it and understand how this changes risks.”
This is an extract of an article first published in Insurance Day. www.insuranceday.com.
insuranceday
Business intelligence |

provided through a fusion of multiple

sensors fitted to the ship’s hull or
chassis including cameras, aural
receptacles and short and long-
range radar. Data from these sensors
is processed using sophisticated
software technology and action is
facilitated through advanced control
algorithms. Location information
is provided through the ship’s
transmission to the Global Positioning
System (GPS). A combination of
control methods is possible: for
instance a ship may autonomously
navigate to a designated location and
thereafter be remotely controlled in
areas of navigational hazard. Some
of these ships operate on the water
surface whereas others operate
exclusively underwater.
At present the usage of unmanned
craft is comparatively limited
and is largely confined to the
marine scientific research, military
and, to a lesser extent, offshore
communities. Permission to use
such craft is obtained on an ad hoc
basis from the relevant national
maritime authorities and presently
this suffices because operations do
not currently include international
voyages. However, some the
developers of this technology aim
to apply it to container carriers and
passenger liners of comparable
size to their manned counterparts.
These unmanned ships will, of
course, undertake international
voyages and in this respect the
optimum exploitation of the
technology is best served by a
genuinely international approach
to its regulation.
For this reason, the recent meeting
of the IMO’s Maritime Safety
Committee (MSC) was significant.
Thus far, work and discussion in
the area of unmanned shipping
regulation has been a patchwork
of efforts by a number of different
working groups based primarily in
Europe and the United States.
Robert Veal, Research Fellow,
Institute of Maritime Law, University
of Southampton; Comité Maritime
International, International Working
Group on Unmanned Ships
This is an extract of the original
article. To access the full analysis,
please visit Shipping & Trade Law at
www.shippingandtradelaw.com and
www.i-law.com.

informa | Business Intelligence / 3

 Lloyd’s Maritime and Commercial Law Quarterly, [2017] LMCLQ 303

Lloyd’s Maritime and Commercial Law Quarterly

The integration of unmanned ships

into the lex maritima
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, write Robert Veal and Michael Tsimplis.

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
LMCLQ masthead.indd 1
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.
from aerial drones and driverless Robert Veal, Research Fellow,
cars to the prospect of unmanned Institute of Maritime Law, University
ships. The introduction of these of Southampton; Michael Tsimplis,
unmanned craft into the maritime Professor of Law and Ocean
domain presents a dilemma to Sciences, School of Law, University of
the investors in this technology Southampton
as well as to maritime regulators.
Should such craft be integrated with This is an extract of the original
manned marine craft and ships on article. To access the full analysis,
the same regulatory basis, or should please visit Lloyd’s Maritime and
they be categorised separately and Commercial Law Quarterly on
afforded their own rules? www.i-law.com.
Unmanned ships and their international regulation
From aerial drones to driverless cars, the transport sector is undergoing steady but
25/08/2017 08:13:56
remarkable change, with humans stepping aside and allowing their traditional roles in
transport operations to be performed by an increasingly sophisticated suite of automated
systems. The maritime domain is not immune to this trend, writes Robert Veal.
One organisation at the forefront of this technological initiative is Rolls-Royce, and only
recently did Rolls’ Vice President for Innovation reaffirm plans to put an unmanned
passenger ferry into Finnish territorial waters by as early as 2020. The prospect of
unmanned ships poses both unique opportunities and challenges, not least for lawyers,
regulators and users of the seas. This paper will outline some of the threshold legal
questions which arise from the prospect of unmanned shipping.
What the industry calls “unmanned surface craft” have been in our waters for several decades
and have a history, in particular in the science research community, for a large number of
surveying exercises. These craft are capable of self-propelled and controlled movement on the
water without any persons onboard. They are controlled in a variety of ways but, principally,
they are remotely controlled by shore-based personnel with a laptop and joystick. This control
is facilitated by line-of-sight radio communications, increasingly aided by location information
provided by the craft’s transmission of the global positioning system (GPS).
This is an extract of the original article. To access the full analysis, please visit Shipping &
Trade Law (2016) 16 STL 9 1 at www.shippingandtradelaw.com and www.i-law.com.

The development of robotics, sensing

and communication technologies is
revolutionising the transport sector,

4 / Business Intelligence | informa

Shipping & Trade Law, November 2016, (2016) 16 STL 9 4

Objective and subjective safety in

unmanned shipping
Unmanned ships must be as safe as possible to ensure that they are adopted and operate
successfully. To objectively consider unmanned ships safe, appropriate laws must apply, and, in
order to ensure that they do, definitions of autonomy have to be agreed upon between lawyers
and engineers. An example of ensuring subjective safety is to ensure that collision avoidance
systems fully incorporate Collision Regulations, writes Hannah Stones.

As is often asserted, unmanned
ships, which are ships without a
master and crew onboard, are the
future of shipping, and that future is
rapidly approaching. This is largely
due to the potential cost savings
from not having to pay people to
be onboard, and the reduction of
human error. However, the law
is a crucial factor in determining
whether unmanned ships are
feasible: whether they can be a
commercial reality and not just a
technological possibility.
This article will consider two ways of
ensuring the safety and feasibility
of unmanned ships. The first
concerns objective safety, which
Insurers must look to other sectors to create framework for
autonomous shipping
The future of autonomous shipping is dependent on marine insurers working with others to
create the necessary legal and regulatory frameworks, a leading marine lawyer has said.
Robert Veal, research fellow at the Institute of Maritime Law, University of Southampton,
said mariners had a lot to learn from other industries that had been disrupted by
autonomous and driverless vehicles.
Veal urged marine insurers to look to their colleagues who had dealt with the advent of
drones, driverless trains and autonomous cars for guidance. He said “exponential change” was
expected within shipping within the next 20 years. Many shipping companies have ambitions
of crewless vessels controlled onshore by one person (who would be capable of controlling
multiple vessels at the same time) or vessels requiring no human interaction at all.
This is an extract of an article first published in Insurance Day, August 2017.
www.insuranceday.com.
insuranceday
Business intelligence |

means ensuring that appropriate

laws apply to unmanned ships. The
second concerns subjective safety,
which relates to how other users of
the seas will perceive and interact
with an unmanned ship. Both
types of safety are needed, and
the relevant laws and regulations
must be tested against available
technological solutions.
When referring to unmanned or
autonomous ships it can be unclear
what is meant by autonomy, yet it
is an important concept in defining
the legal position of the ship and the
owner. If the ship itself is considered
as the equivalent of the master this
leads to issues of conferring legal
personhood on an unmanned ship.
The law could go even further and
consider it as a human, because
if the machine can perceive,
understand and make decisions like
a human it could be treated as such.
If legal personhood was applied
to unmanned ships, liability would
still be imposed on the owner, so it
would be an unnecessary distinction
from other ships. Treating the
ship (or at least its intelligent
systems within) as human would
not be effective, as the owner
would not be held liable and suffer
losses to motivate change. A less
complicated way of considering
autonomy of an unmanned ship is
as the autonomy of a possession,
for which the owner is responsible.
Hannah Stones, Leverhulme
Trust Doctoral Scholar, and Vice
Chancellor’s Scholar, Institute of
Maritime Law, and Southampton
Marine and Maritime Institute,
University of Southampton
This is an extract of the original
article. To access the full analysis,
please visit Shipping & Trade Law at
www.shippingandtradelaw.com and
www.i-law.com.

informa | Business Intelligence / 5

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