LEGAL STATUS OF AUTONOMOUS SHIPS

LEGAL STATUS OF AUTONOMOUS SHIPS

Autonomous vehicles can be defined, in layman's terms, as vehicles operating without human intervention. These increasingly common vehicles have also found their place in maritime transport, appearing as autonomous ships. Autonomous ships come in three forms: those operated by remote control, those operated by an autonomous system, and those operated by both an autonomous system and remote control. The degree of human involvement in autonomous systems also affects the level of autonomy. These are ships that are not manned by crew, lack a crew or have a limited crew, are programmed with artificial intelligence for self-operation, or are controlled by a remote control system.

The legal status of autonomous ships is a subject of debate, and whether or not they should be considered ships is crucial for understanding which rights and obligations they are subject to under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), an international treaty of considerable importance in maritime law. This is because most of the provisions in the UNCLOS only cover ships. The fact that unmanned ships are not considered ships means that these provisions do not apply to autonomous ships.

The definition of a ship is included in many international conventions, but compliance with these definitions alone is not considered sufficient for autonomous ships to be recognized as ships; national legal regulations must also conform to these definitions. Unlike other conventions, the UNCLOS does not define the concept of a ship. This allows states to define the concept of a ship themselves, meaning autonomous ships may have different definitions and be subject to appropriate rules according to each state's legal system.

Article 94 of the UNCLOS emphasizes that a ship must be entrusted to a captain and officers with the required qualifications, and the number of crew members should vary according to the type and size of the ship. Furthermore, Article 98 of the UNCLOS states that "Each State shall require the captain of a ship flying its flag to perform the following tasks, if this can be done without creating a serious danger to the ship's crew and passengers." This raises questions about how a captain and crew, who are absent from autonomous ships, will assess whether a serious danger exists.

Although autonomous vessels are not entirely compatible with these articles in the UNCLOS, it can be observed that they overlap with the definition of a vessel in other relevant conventions. A vessel is defined in the MARPOL Convention as any type of boat operating in the maritime environment, including hydrofoil boats, air-cushioned vehicles, submarines, floating vessels, and fixed or floating platforms; and in the 1986 United Nations Convention on Conditions for the Registration of Ships as self-propelled marine vessels used for the carriage of goods, passengers, or both in international maritime trade, excluding vessels under 500 gross tons.

According to Article 931 of the Turkish Commercial Code, any vehicle that floats and moves in water, and is not very small, is defined as a vessel. As seen in the Turkish Commercial Code, the presence or absence of a captain and crew on board is not important for a vessel to qualify as a vessel.

If autonomous vessels were to qualify as vessels, there would be no obstacle to applying the rights defined for vessels to autonomous vessels as well. Thus, the rights and obligations of ships under maritime law can be applied by analogy to autonomous vessels.

International law is a branch of law that constantly changes and develops according to the needs of the international community. The integration of autonomous vessels into maritime transport will bring about many technological and legal innovations. Comprehensive regulations at the national and international levels are needed for existing maritime law to adapt to this new technology. Eliminating legal uncertainties is critical to ensuring the safe and efficient use of autonomous vessels.

Intern Law Faculty Student

Buse Güleser SEZENLİK