Abstract

The article seeks to contribute to the development of a conceptual framework for the ongoing regulatory discussions on autonomous ships at the International Maritime Organization (IMO). It elaborates on the distinction between the level of autonomy and the level of manning and highlights the sliding scale that features in both. Certain building blocks that are needed for regulating autonomous ships are identified, followed by an assessment of how key existing IMO rules deal with the challenges and an analysis of available precedents. The conclusion is that the on-going exercise is unique, almost without precedent, and that the work that has just started at IMO, so far at least, fails to address the most important—and complex—regulatory challenges.

摘要

本文旨在为国际海事组织（IMO）正在进行的有关自动驾驶船舶的法规讨论的概念框架的开发做出贡献。它详细说明了自治级别和人员配置级别之间的区别，并突出了两者之间的滑动比例。确定了调节自主船所需的某些组成部分，然后评估了现有的主要IMO规则如何应对挑战并分析了可用的先例。结论是正在进行的工作是独特的，几乎没有先例，而且至少从IMO至今才开始的工作未能解决最重要，最复杂的监管挑战。