In the 101st session of the Maritime Safety Committee, the International Maritime Organization adopted new guidelines for autonomous ship trials, says a press release published on their website.
What is it?
According to the IMO press prelease, the Committee approved Interim guidelines for Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS) trials.
Trials Done in Safe, Secure Manner
Among other things, the guidelines say that trials should be conducted in a manner that provides at least the same degree of safety, security and protection of the environment as provided by the relevant instruments. Risks associated with the trials should be appropriately identified and measures to reduce the risks, to as low as reasonably practicable and acceptable, should be put in place.
Qualified Remote Operators for Trials
Onboard or remote operators of MASS should be appropriately qualified for operating MASS subject to the trial. Any personnel involved in MASS trials, whether remote or onboard, should be appropriately qualified and experienced to safely conduct MASS trials. Appropriate steps should be taken to ensure sufficient cyber risk management of the systems and infrastructure used when conducting MASS trials.
How to do a proper MASS Operation?
The MSC made progress with the scoping exercise to look at how the safe, secure and environmentally sound operation of MASS may be introduced in IMO instruments.
A working group met during the session and terms of reference were agreed for an inter-sessional working group to be held in September 2019 to continue the work.
- The first step is underway – identifying, in the relevant treaties, provisions which: apply to MASS and prevent MASS operations; or apply to MASS and do not prevent MASS operations and require no actions; or apply to MASS and do not prevent MASS operations but may need to be amended or clarified, and/or may contain gaps; or have no application to MASS operations.
- Once the first step is completed, a second step will be conducted to analyse and determine the most appropriate way of addressing MASS operations, taking into account, inter alia, human element, technology and operational factors.
- The analysis will identify the need for: equivalences as provided for by the instruments or developing interpretations; and/or amending existing instruments; and/or developing new instruments; or none of the above as a result of the analysis.
The inter-sessional working group (meeting in September 2019) has been tasked with considering the results of the first step; considering how the outcome of the second step should be reported to MSC 102; based on a high-level discussion on the gaps, themes and/or relevant findings identified during the first step, providing guidance to Member States for use in the second step; and providing a report to MSC 102 (May 2020).
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Source: IMO
