Transport Policy ( IF 6.173 ) Pub Date : 2021-04-03 , DOI: 10.1016/j.tranpol.2021.03.025 Wangwang Xing , Ling Zhu
Advancements in technology have prompted the emergence of several new kinds of ships and ship-shaped structures, including floating offshore platforms, unmanned maritime vehicles (UMVs), and unmanned merchant ships; this raises questions for international shipping regulations about their legal status and navigational rights. The legal status of a ship under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), as well as other relevant international instruments, is different from that of a non-ship, since the latter does not have legal rights of international navigation. However, neither customary international law, nor the UNCLOS, provides a clear definition for the term “ship”, though different definitions of “ship” have been given in different international conventions and national statutes for their own purposes. This paper attempts to propose a functional approach, based on ships’ main functions of navigation and transportation, to reassessing the legal status and navigational rights of ships and ship-shaped structures. By following the functional approach, this paper clarifies that a ship having navigational rights means any self-propelled water-going vessel for the transportation of goods, passengers, and other objects, including vessels to be used for military or public service purposes. Based on this definition, the paper further finds that: 1) Floating offshore systems (including floating platforms and drill ships) should be regarded as ships when they are navigating in the waters; 2) most of the UMVs, being regarded as ship equipment or attachments, can only reflect their mother ship status; and 3) ocean-going bulkers and smaller container vessels that may be able to switch to unmanned operation should also be recognized as having the legal status of ships.
中文翻译:
重新评估船舶和船形结构的法律地位和航行权的功能性方法
技术的进步促使出现了几种新型的船舶和船形结构,包括浮动海上平台,无人海上航行器(UMV)和无人商船。这对国际运输法规提出了有关其法律地位和航行权的疑问。根据《联合国海洋法公约》和其他有关国际文书,船舶的法律地位与非船舶的法律地位不同,因为非船舶不具有国际航行的合法权利。 。但是,尽管不同的国际公约和国家法规出于自身目的对“船舶”进行了不同的定义,但习惯国际法和《海洋法公约》都没有为“船舶”一词提供明确的定义。本文试图提出一种基于船舶航行和运输主要功能的功能方法,以重新评估船舶和船形结构的法律地位和航行权。通过遵循功能性方法,本文阐明具有航行权的船舶是指用于运输货物,乘客和其他物体的任何自行式水上航行的船舶,包括用于军事或公共服务目的的船舶。基于此定义,本文进一步发现:1)浮动海上系统(包括浮动平台和钻探船)在水域中航行时应视为船舶;2)大多数UMV被视为船舶设备或附件,只能反映其母船状态;