Research On Legal Liability For The Collision Of Unmanned Intelligent Ships

Unmanned intelligent ship navigation is a new tendency under the catalysis of modern technology.It has many differences from traditional ships,which is mainly reflected in its degree of intelligence beyond the scope of traditional ships.The rapid development of unmanned intelligent ships cannot fully adapt to the existing traditional maritime system.It is accompanied with some legal issues.One of the most urgent issues to be solved is the tort liability for collision of unmanned ships.Due to the differences between unmanned intelligent ships and traditional ships,a various of issues,for instance,the determination of tort liability after collisions of unmanned smart ships need to be discussed.On the basis of recognizing the legal status of unmanned intelligent ships,this article discusses the subject of infringement of unmanned intelligent ship collisions,as well as the applicable principles of liability and the division of responsibilities.The first chapter discusses the legal status of unmanned intelligent ships.Under IMO’s four-level division of autonomous ships on the sea surface,this article focuses on the third and fourth levels of remotely controlled unmanned ships and fully autonomous navigating unmanned ships.Unmanned intelligent ships are different from traditional ships.Therefore,before conducting research on the tort liability for collision of unmanned smart ships,it is necessary to clarify the legal nature of unmanned intelligent ships.Through comparative analysis of the meaning of international conventions and national laws of various countries on ships,it is discussed whether unmanned intelligent ships are ships and whether they can be applicable to the relevant laws and regulations of traditional ships.The second chapter discusses the main body responsible for the collision of the unmanned intelligent ships.Based on the theory of ship personification,for an unmanned intelligent ship with a certain degree of autonomous initiative,discussing whether it can be given the status of "human" is an important issue to determine whether the unmanned intelligent ship can be the subject of responsibility.In addition,drawing on the principle of identifying the subject of infringement of the traditional ship collision,and combining the characteristics of the unmanned intelligent ship,the principle of identifying the subject of the infringement of the unmanned intelligent ship is determined.According to the identification principle of the responsible party,the specific legal liability subjects for collisions under the two types of remote-controlled unmanned ships and fully autonomously navigating unmanned ships are discussed separately.The third chapter discusses the principle of liability and responsibility for unmanned intelligent ship collision.First of all,by referring to the imputation principle of traditional ship collision infringement liability,the application of the imputation principle under unmanned intelligent ship collision infringement liability is clarified.In addition,according to the various ways of unmanned intelligent ship collision infringement,the issue of division of responsibility is discussed.This part mainly introduces how to bear and allocate liability under unilateral negligence,mutual negligence and no-fault collision infringement.The fourth chapter provides relevant legislative suggestions for the aforementioned issues,including clarifying the legal status of unmanned intelligent ships,clearly specifying the legal status of shore-based operators,and clearly specifying the principle of liability of the unmanned intelligent ship’s collision responsibility.