REGULATING maritime autonomous surface ships (MASS) has implications for safety, legal and facilitation instruments under the purview of the international Maritime Organization.
And the first session of a joint IMO working group to address common high-priority issues across various instruments was held September 7-9 in remote session. The session was preceded by an IMO MASS Seminar (5-6 September), which brought together stakeholders to share insights and views.
The working group was established following a regulatory scoping exercise on MASS. The exercise was designed to assess existing IMO instruments to see how they might apply to MASS and what gaps existed to permit their operation.
The Maritime Safety Committee agreed on a road map of developing a goal-based instrument regulating the operation of MASS. A first step in the road map is in the form of a non-mandatory Code for adoption in the second half of 2024 while a mandatory MASS Code is to be developed thereafter for entry into force on 1 January 2028.
The joint working group developed a table – intended as a living document – to identity preferred options for addressing common issues, such as: role of MASS master and crew; responsibilities of Mass master and crew; competencies required for MASS master and crew; identification and meaning of term “remote operator” and their responsibilities.
A draft work plan was agreed, for approval by the three committees, which envisages the committees reviewing the report of the first session and a second joint working group to be convened in 2023.
The joint working group agreed that a seminar on legal issues, including implications under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), would be beneficial.
