Introduction
In 2017 Clyde & Co partnered with the Institute of Marine Science, Engineering and Technology (IMarEST) to research the adoption of new technologies in the shipping sector. Our research on unmanned vessels revealed that while the industry is in the early adoptive stages, best practice for regulating, insuring and managing liability need to be clarified before the industry will see wide spread adoption.
The technology for unmanned ships is gathering pace. The legal landscape for the use of such ships, however, remains largely uncharted waters. In June 2017, the Marine Safety Committee of the IMO agreed to include the issue of marine autonomous surface ships on its agenda. This scoping exercise is the first step towards determining how the IMO can promote the safe, secure and environmentally sound operation of autonomous vessels.
The discussion and speculation about the legal aspects of unmanned shipping has largely focused on the regulatory backdrop and particular legal issues, such as collisions involving these ships. However, use of such ships will impact on every single legal and insurance aspect of shipping, not least the carriage of goods by sea.
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