Seaworthiness And Autonomous Vessels

• Published date: 31 March 2022
• Subject Matter: Transport, Technology, Marine/ Shipping, New Technology
• Law Firm: Haynes and Boone
• Author: Mr Mark Johnson, Fiona Cain and Christopher Orford

Seaworthiness and autonomous vessels

With over 1,000 autonomous vessels in operation worldwide¹, and the value of this market expected to increase by 50% in the next decade², questions remain on how autonomous vessel operation will dovetail with existing international rules. The recent decision by the Supreme Court in CMA CGM Libra³ provides beneficial clarity on the seaworthiness of a conventional vessel, but serves as a reminder that autonomous ships will, by their nature, give rise to new implications in determining seaworthiness.

Seaworthiness and CMA CGM Libra

Under a contract of carriage of goods by sea, the carrier is usually (by means of the Hague/Hague Visby Rules) required before and at the beginning of a voyage to exercise due diligence to make the ship seaworthy (including fitness to receive and carry the cargo, good repair of the machinery and equipment and sufficient crew, stores, and fuel). The CMA CGM Libra centered around whether a defect in the passage plan of a container vessel made the vessel unseaworthy for the purposes of a bill of lading under the...