The global shipping industry – much like air, road and rail transportation – is undergoing a technological revolution. From hull cleaning to collision avoidance systems, automation has made incredible advances in recent years. There is more to come, too. Norwegian company Yara has partnered with the engineering group Kongsberg with plans to launch the world’s first automated container ship in 2018. Rolls-Royce is also joining the fray, having revealed plans in September to build autonomous naval vessels.
There are good reasons for embracing these innovations. For starters, unmanned ships are thought to be potentially safer and more fuel efficient. Automation also frees seafarers from the drudgery of paperwork. But these benefits come at a cost. One of the key challenges in the coming years (and one of the focal topics of BLG’s Maritime Law Seminar on December 1, 2017), is how the shipping industry will cope with the growing threat from cyber attacks.
“Ships have an opening to the outside world,” Chris South, a senior underwriter for West of England P&I, told the audience present at the seminar in Montréal. “And wherever there…
