Study On Seaworthiness Of Unmanned Ships In Maritime Cargo Transportation

Research advances suggest that the concept of driverless autonomous cargo ships may become a reality in the near future.The obligation of seaworthiness is a traditional obligation of carriers and has a fundamental position in maritime cargo transportation,which is related to a series of fundamental systems in maritime law,such as liability determination and insurance claims.Although the connotation of seaworthiness is constantly changing with the development of standards,industry norms,technical improvements and regulations,it is always based on the iterative update of the situation of "existence of a person" on board.Therefore,it is necessary to review some of the connotations and requirements of seaworthiness before unmanned ships are formally introduced into international trade.In this paper,we will try to review the development and current standards of seaworthiness of ships,discuss the problems arising from the application of the current legal framework of seaworthiness to unmanned ships,and make legal recommendations.The first chapter discusses the basic concept of unmanned ships and the obligation of seaworthiness,and argues that the "human factor" on board is not the decisive factor in defining the craft as a ship,and that unmanned ships should belong to the current legal framework and the existing legal framework of seaworthiness should be applied.Secondly,according to the current conventions and our legal norms,the requirement of seaworthiness will extend to three aspects: the structure of the ship,the adequacy and competence of the ship’s master and crew,and the conformity of the ship’s documentation.However,in the existing legal framework of seaworthiness,unmanned ships will face problems in the above three aspects.Chapter 2 discusses the specific problems arising from unmanned ships in the face of airworthiness requirements.The structural requirements for the ship’s structure will be more stringent due to the new technologies such as "situational awareness" and "unmanned cabin",and the cyber software requirements will go far beyond the due diligence obligations.In terms of personnel airworthiness,for remotely operated ships,there is a lack of legal requirements for training shore-based operators.For fully autonomous ships,it is difficult for software developers or operators to be identified as crew members.When dealing with the seaworthiness of ship documents,the absence or inability of an unmanned ship to produce such documents can constitute a breach of seaworthiness.Chapter 3 discusses the subjects of liability and exemptions for unmanned ships in the event of a breach of seaworthiness requirements.It is argued that the subject of liability is the owner of the vessel,regardless of the type of unmanned vessel.In terms of exemptions,carriers need to prove that they have properly tested the software that controls their navigation to ensure that it is still functioning properly.If the "latent defect" exemption applies,the carrier needs to prove that it has taken steps to correct the situation when selecting(and maintaining)the control system.Chapter 4 discusses our legal proposals for the seaworthiness of unmanned vessels,which may shift liability to the manufacturer in the future as unmanned vessel technology develops,i.e.,to a product liability dispute.The proposed legal suggestions include the signing of indemnity letters between the ship owner and the ship manufacturer or software supplier;the reasonable allocation of responsibilities among the equipment manufacturer,software supplier,shipyard and ship owner in respect of unmanned ships;and finally,the need to clarify the criteria and determination of "defects" of unmanned ship products.In summary,the current legal framework of seaworthiness is applied to unmanned ships engaged in maritime cargo transportation.This paper starts from the legal status of unmanned ships,analyzes the new requirements of traditional seaworthiness requirements applied to unmanned ships,and also analyzes the corresponding responsibilities,in order to improve the relevant research on seaworthiness of unmanned ships.