Unmanned Vessels And The Carriage Of Goods – Contractual And Insurance Considerations

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.

Click here to read the Technology in Shipping report

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 on 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.

Reviewing any standard charterparty, it is striking how many of the rights and obligations concern operations or matters which involve the Master or crew. The contractual framework for carriage of goods will need to change to be fit for the purpose of carriage in unmanned vessels. Relevant insurances will develop and respond accordingly. This paper looks at some of the issues which may arise in this area in relation to risk and insurance.

Contractual risk

The shipping industry is still some years away from the first unmanned ship undertaking an international voyage. The YARA BIRKLAND, which is due to come into service in 2020, will reportedly be the world's first fully electric and autonomous container ship. She is being built to sail within the coastal waters of Norway.

Some clues as to the design, specifications and operational capabilities of future unmanned vessels can be gleaned from the YARA BIRKLAND, but there will inevitably be significant differences between an unmanned 80m coastal container ship and, for example, a VLCC.

Understanding the design and operation of these ships is key to assessing how they will operate within a contractual context. For example, many of the concerns around automation relate to unmanned ships...