The Legal Research On Unmanned Ships

Unmanned Ships are those which are capable of controlled movement on the water in absence of any onboard crew.In accordance with the Questionnaire handed out by the International Working Group on Maritime Law on Unmanned Craft,its Position Paper and Responses from 19 countries,this article explores whether existing public and private maritime law,including the law of the sea,can in principle still be applied,examines what existing rules will be amended or expanded and considers what new rules may have to be developed.The Preamble introduces technical backgrounds of unmanned ships and concludes contents of the Questionnaire.Chapter I analyzes the legal status of unmanned ships through the comparative study with the definition of “ship”.Chapter II explores legal barriers to unmanned ships under the legal framework of International Maritime Organization(IMO)concerning requirements for safety navigation.Chapter III considers the collision liability of unmanned ships on the level of national laws.Chapter IV concludes legal obstacles to applying unmanned ships to shipping industry.