safety, pollution prevention, maritime rights and interests and responsibilities of
unmanned ships, IMO member states should make adequate preparations for the
introduction for the promulgation of relevant legislations, regulations and norms.
5 Legal and Regulatory Issues Faced by the Development
of Intelligent Ships
The SOLAS Convention stipulates that each flag state shall equip the ship with
qualified personnel in accordance with the minimum personnel allocation regulations set by itself, and it is obvious that unmanned ships do not meet this provision.
In order to adapt to the development trend of unmanned ships, it is necessary to
strengthen the amendment and improvement of maritime conventions and laws. In
order to reduce the minimum staffing to zero, the following legal problems must be
solved.
(1). How crew redefines. The current crew work includes cargo handling, maintenance, driving, etc. It is both the operation subject and the responsibility subject.
If you leave the ship and the pilot changes to a program, do the programmers
have to be trained by the crew? In PSC (port state supervision and control)
inspection of various countries, the captain signs and confirms the problems
found out. If there is no crew, at least a regulation should be issued to replace the
captain to assume various responsibilities.
(2). Who bears the legal responsibility for safety? When a ship equipped with fully
automatic navigation and collision avoidance system meets the requirements of
average and machine damage accident, who should be responsible. Ship
owners, shore-based operators, equipment manufacturers and system maintenance personnel are all likely to be liable, and the identification of liability needs
to be regulated by new laws. It is also the responsibility of competent authorities
to establish relevant laws on supervision and management to ensure that
unmanned ships reach at least the same safety standards as current ships and
avoid accidents.
(3). Who is responsible for the loss of ship owners and shippers? In the current
operation of the ship, the chief officer is responsible for the handover of goods
and the chief engineer is responsible for the refueling. If there is no crew on
board, these are arranged directly by the port. If ship owner spot checks and
finds that the oil stored is not accounted for, it is impossible to determine which
port has lost the cargo space and find the relevant responsible person.
In a word, in order to realize unmanned ships, the existing SOLAS, STCW, MLC
and other conventions are all about protecting or restraining the crew. If the crew is
lost, it must be abolished or revised, which requires a long time to study, discuss and
adapt.
710
T. Yang
unmanned ships, IMO member states should make adequate preparations for the
introduction for the promulgation of relevant legislations, regulations and norms.
5 Legal and Regulatory Issues Faced by the Development
of Intelligent Ships
The SOLAS Convention stipulates that each flag state shall equip the ship with
qualified personnel in accordance with the minimum personnel allocation regulations set by itself, and it is obvious that unmanned ships do not meet this provision.
In order to adapt to the development trend of unmanned ships, it is necessary to
strengthen the amendment and improvement of maritime conventions and laws. In
order to reduce the minimum staffing to zero, the following legal problems must be
solved.
(1). How crew redefines. The current crew work includes cargo handling, maintenance, driving, etc. It is both the operation subject and the responsibility subject.
If you leave the ship and the pilot changes to a program, do the programmers
have to be trained by the crew? In PSC (port state supervision and control)
inspection of various countries, the captain signs and confirms the problems
found out. If there is no crew, at least a regulation should be issued to replace the
captain to assume various responsibilities.
(2). Who bears the legal responsibility for safety? When a ship equipped with fully
automatic navigation and collision avoidance system meets the requirements of
average and machine damage accident, who should be responsible. Ship
owners, shore-based operators, equipment manufacturers and system maintenance personnel are all likely to be liable, and the identification of liability needs
to be regulated by new laws. It is also the responsibility of competent authorities
to establish relevant laws on supervision and management to ensure that
unmanned ships reach at least the same safety standards as current ships and
avoid accidents.
(3). Who is responsible for the loss of ship owners and shippers? In the current
operation of the ship, the chief officer is responsible for the handover of goods
and the chief engineer is responsible for the refueling. If there is no crew on
board, these are arranged directly by the port. If ship owner spot checks and
finds that the oil stored is not accounted for, it is impossible to determine which
port has lost the cargo space and find the relevant responsible person.
In a word, in order to realize unmanned ships, the existing SOLAS, STCW, MLC
and other conventions are all about protecting or restraining the crew. If the crew is
lost, it must be abolished or revised, which requires a long time to study, discuss and
adapt.
710
T. Yang