KR Webzine Vol.145

The Maritime Safety Committee(MSC), the Legal Committee(LEG), and the Facilitation Committee(FAL) are working on a regulatory scoping exercise(RSE) for safe, secure, and environmentally sound Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships(MASS) operations.

The RSE (regulatory scoping exercise)offers a preliminary review of how the changing regulations for MASS will affect the current regulatory framework.  The exercise will be conducted in two stages, assessing one of the four options at each stage. As a first step, the study identifies the current regulations and assesses how they may or may not be applicable to ships with varying degrees of autonomy and/or whether they may preclude MASS operations. As a second step, an analysis is conducted to determine the most appropriate way of addressing MASS operations.

The MSC established a work plan for the RSE and agreed to submit the final work result to the MSC 102nd session meeting in 2020. The LEG and the FAL have also established work plans which are currently underway.

To facilitate the progress of the RSE, the degrees of autonomy are classified as follows:

Degree one: 
A ship with automated processes and decision support: the seafarers are on board to operate and control shipboard systems and functions. Some operations may be automated and at times be unsupervised but with seafarers on board ready to take control.

Degree two: 
A remotely controlled ship with seafarers on board: The ship is controlled and operated from another location. Seafarers are available on board to take control and operate the shipboard systems and functions.

Degree three:
A remotely controlled ship without seafarers on board: The ship is controlled and operated from another location. There are no seafarers on board.

Degree four:
A fully autonomous ship: The operating system of the ship can make decisions and determine actions by itself.

For each degree of autonomous ships defined above, it is classified as one of four options in the following example of SOLAS Chapter V Reg. 24, taking into account whether it is applicable to the regulation and interferes with the MASS operations.

Figure examples of RSE 1ststep and 2nd step for SOLAS Chapter V Reg.24

In the LEG, there are also comments about whether remote operators and artificial systems are included in existing entities such as the master and shipowner or should be considered as a new entity. After the RSE, discussions on the roles, responsibilities of remote operators, and artificial systems will follow.

The digitalization of the maritime industry has radically progressed with the introduction of the autonomous ship and port facilities using AI, IoT, and BigData technology. As a result, related organizations are now working to establish the relevant laws, regulations, and certifications that are appropriate for these new systems. TheKorean Register published certification guidelines for autonomous ships in 2019 and is currently conducting research and development to strengthen digital capabilities specifically cybersecurity, digital survey, and condition monitoring systems.