Regulating Unmanned Vessels: Emerging Solutions

Edited by: Zuzanna Pepłowska-Dąbrowska, Igor Vio

ISBN: 9781032971421

Published: June 2026

Format: Hardcover

Language: English

Publisher: Informa Law from Routledge

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Description

While the technology behind crewless ships (Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships, MASS) advances rapidly, the legal framework governing them still needs substantial revision. This edited collection proposes regulatory solutions to the problems raised by MASS operations, carefully balancing the interests of the many, often new, parties involved — flag states, insurers, AI developers and cargo interests — while protecting the rights of victims of MASS operations and preserving the marine environment, without hindering the development of the technology or the industries built on it.

Key Features

• Surveys the latest developments at the IMO, EU and CMI on regulating crewless ships
• Analyses emerging legal issues, including flag state jurisdiction over Remote Operation Centres, whether a MASS needs a "master", STCW and seafarer standards, decarbonisation goals, and maritime security
• Examines liability and insurance regimes for autonomous ships, including how the LLMC's limitation of liability applies to MASS
• Addresses the role of Artificial Intelligence in MASS operations, including liability under the EU AI framework and comparative approaches in Japan and Korea

In practice, the collection is used to assess flag state and insurance exposure before deploying autonomous or remotely-operated vessels, to track the IMO's MASS Code and regulatory scoping exercise as it develops, and to advise on AI liability questions arising from autonomous vessel operations under frameworks such as the EU AI Act.

Coverage

The volume opens with the state of play at the IMO, EU and CMI (Part I), then works through jurisdictional, seafarer, security and decarbonisation questions raised by MASS operations (Part II), moves into insurance and liability under instruments such as the LLMC (Part III), and closes with the artificial intelligence dimension of MASS, including a comparative look at Japan and Korea's regulatory approaches to autonomous shipping (Part IV).

About the Authors

Zuzanna Pepłowska-Dąbrowska and Igor Vio are maritime law scholars specialising in the regulation of autonomous shipping, and together contribute Chapter 11 on the IMO's regulatory scoping exercises. The volume brings together contributors from maritime law, insurance and international organisations across Europe and beyond, including Henrik Ringbom, Melis Özdel, Frank Stevens and D. Rhidian Thomas.

Table of Contents

PART I. ACTIVITIES AT THE INTERNATIONAL LEVEL
1. Regulatory Challenges Linked to MASS — Henrik Ringbom
2. Laying the Groundwork for MASS Regulation at the IMO — Maria Pia Benosa
3. EU and MASS — Eva Ricarda Baddenhausen
4. CMI and MASS — Melis Özdel

PART II. DISCUSSION ON EMERGING ISSUES ARISING FROM THE WORK OF INTERNATIONAL BODIES
5. The Jurisdictional Reach of Flag States over Remote Operation Centres — Murat Sümer
6. Autonomous Ships – Do We Need a MASS Master? — Frank Stevens
7. MASS and STCW – Emerging Problems with Reference to Seafarers — Marija Pijaca and Božena Bulum
8. Next-Generation Autonomous Vessels and the IMO's Decarbonization Goals — Barbara Stępień
9. MASS and International Maritime Security Law — Aref Fakhry
10. Unmanned Vessels: Maritime Security and the UK's Goal of Proactive Legislation — Raphael Esu
11. Problems Arising from the IMO's Regulatory Scoping Exercises — Paths to Take — Zuzanna Pepłowska-Dąbrowska and Igor Vio

PART III. INSURANCE AND LIABILITY REGIME FOR MASS
12. Some Thoughts on the Insurance of Autonomous Ship — D. Rhidian Thomas
13. MASS and the LLMC: Examining the Limits of the Convention's Applicability — Iva Tuhtan Grgić
14. AI, AI Captain, MASS Liability Ahoy — Mihael Mišo Mudrić and Kristijan Kotarski

PART IV. MASS AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE FOR MASS – DILEMMAS AND SOLUTIONS
15. Liability for Damage Caused by Autonomous Ships in the Light of the EU Framework on Artificial Intelligence — Manuel Alba Fernández and Juan Pablo Rodríguez Delgado
16. Inhuman Ethics? Legal and Ethical Considerations of Artificial Intelligence in the Maritime Sector — Justyna Nawrot and Iwona Zużewicz-Wiewiórowska
17. Navigating Autonomy with Human Control: Regulatory Approaches for Autonomous Shipping in Japan and Korea — Unho Lee

Why buy this book?

Regulating Unmanned Vessels: Emerging Solutions is the first collection to bring IMO, EU, CMI and national perspectives on MASS regulation together in one volume, alongside the liability, insurance and artificial intelligence questions that come with deploying crewless ships. It is essential reading for any library or practice advising on the legal transition to autonomous shipping.

Keywords

Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships, MASS, unmanned vessels, autonomous shipping law, IMO regulatory scoping exercise, Remote Operation Centres, maritime artificial intelligence, marine insurance, maritime security law

Target Audience

Policy makers and national maritime administrations, maritime law practitioners and scholars, insurers of maritime risks, artificial intelligence scholars, advanced maritime law students

Genre

Maritime Law, International Law, Autonomous Vessels, Artificial Intelligence

Q&A

Q: What is a Maritime Autonomous Surface Ship (MASS)?
A: MASS is the IMO's term for a crewless or remotely operated ship; this book examines the legal and regulatory framework needed to accommodate MASS operations.

Q: Does the book cover IMO regulation of autonomous ships?
A: Yes, several chapters track the IMO's regulatory scoping exercise and related work on MASS at the international level.

Q: What insurance and liability issues does the book address?
A: It covers the insurance of autonomous ships and how the LLMC's limitation of liability regime applies to MASS operations.

Q: Does the book discuss artificial intelligence and MASS?
A: Yes, Part IV examines AI liability under the EU framework, ethical considerations, and comparative regulatory approaches in Japan and Korea.

Q: Where can I buy Regulating Unmanned Vessels: Emerging Solutions?
A: It is available from CLNZ Books with worldwide shipping included.

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