A Study of the Application Barriers to the Use of Autonomous Ships Posed by the Good Seamanship Requirement of COLREGs

Autonomous ships are gaining in importance and are expected to shape the future of the global shipping industry. This evolutionary shift raises serious issues about compliance with the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea 1972 (COLREGs). This paper reviews the literature on aut...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of navigation 2020-05, Vol.73 (3), p.710-725
Main Authors: Zhou, Xiang-Yu, Huang, Jin-Jing, Wang, Feng-Wu, Wu, Zhao-Lin, Liu, Zheng-Jiang
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Algorithms
Artificial intelligence
Autonomous navigation
Computer vision
Decks
International regulations
Navigation
Remote control
Seamanship
Shipping
Shipping industry
Ships
Visibility
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Summary:Autonomous ships are gaining in importance and are expected to shape the future of the global shipping industry. This evolutionary shift raises serious issues about compliance with the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea 1972 (COLREGs). This paper reviews the literature on autonomous ships from the perspective of the obligations of good seamanship imposed by COLREGs. The authors conclude that to facilitate the introduction of autonomous ships, the application barriers presented by COLREGs need to be analysed. With this goal, this paper presents a perspective from navigational practice. Four nautical scientists and two deck officers were invited to give their opinions. The analysis indicates that COLREGs require further elaboration and amendments to eliminate uncertainty of interpretation. In particular, the paper highlights the need to amend the ‘look-out’ rule (COLREGs Rule 5) to permit look-out by ‘computer vision’ alone while, at the same time, preserving the distinction between vessels navigating in restricted visibility and in sight of one another.
ISSN:0373-4633
1469-7785
DOI:10.1017/S0373463319000924