Will the smart ship also be the liable ship?: An analysis of the application of liability to the ship itself

Abstract

As engineers develop the future of shipping: unmanned ships, and autonomous operating systems, which do not need a master or crew on board, it is asked: 'who shall be held responsible?'. Research into autonomous systems has considered holding the owner, the manufacturer or programmer responsible by considering the autonomous system as their instrument. Another suggestion is to make the ship liable. The problem is that the idea of the system itself being held liable has not been considered in relation to shipping. It is concluded that it would not be possible to hold the ship liable in international maritime law. Previous research found that it is problematic to impose remedial measures on a system; additionally, in maritime law the system is based on the owner being liable and minimal change being required is needed to ease the introduction of unmanned ships. Therefore, liability will not be imposed on the ships themselves.