The Shipowners’ Club released a report, in which they outline the developments made in autonomous vessels and the implications that may occur in the light of a P&I perspective.
At first the Club draws a distinction between unmanned and autonomous vessels, saying that unmanned vessels (UVs) are defined as vessels without crew on board but which are controlled remotely from the shore, while, autonomous vessels (ASVs) are pre-programmed vessels that operate using algorithms.
It also clarifies that amendments will need to be made to the existing regulatory framework to ensure it remains relevant to UVs and ASVs. In this context is encouraging that the Comité Maritime International has established an International Working Group on Maritime Law and Unmanned Vessels to draft a Code of Conduct.
However, considering the length of time it takes to gather international consensus on such issues, it seems likely that the technology and use of UVs and ASVs will soon surpass the existing legal regimes.
Meanwhile, national legislation, contractual wordings and insurance is likely to fill the void. For instance, Maritime UK has published an Industry Code of Practice for Maritime Autonomous Systems Ships (MASS), setting standards and best practice for ASVs of less than 24 metres in length.
When considering how the legal framework may change, it is important to consider another area of the transport industry, driverless cars.
The developments in this area already bigger that the shipping industry, with companies such as Tesla and Google having already built and tested driverless cars.
From the Club’s point of view, UVs and ASVs have significant potential advantages regarding the reduction of the number of claims arising from human error in the navigation of vessels.
The Club noted that on average 38% of all notified claims are caused by human error. Additionally, about 42% of claims are categorised as personal injury claims, which would significantly decrease were UVs and AVs to become more commonplace, as well as reducing wage bills.
“The P&I cover sold by the Club obviously responds to Members’ third party liabilities and whilst the regulatory framework struggles to keep pace with these changes, the Club recognises that it must adapt quickly and help lead the way,” Shipowners’ Club concluded.
For more information for autonomous vessels, click in the PDF below
Next MASS summit will tell us if autonomous ship ever will cross the Atlantic. However based on my knowledge of IMO, and having participated several times in W-G, my guess is that none of us will live long enough to see the outcome of this topic. It will be on and off the agenda several times before it finally will be forgotten as nonrealistic. I suggest these “autonomous people” instead should put their efforts in developing in their own words “partly autonomous ship” = (minimum manned ships). After having been captain for almost 20 years in WW trade, my guess is that MMS partly equipped with some of these new developed “autonomous ships equipment”, could cross the Atlantic ocean safely with a total crew of 3-5 within just a few years.