Interesting legal issues that will arise in the future as unmanned and autonomous ships begin to traverse our inland waterways and high seas were explored at a maritime law webinar hosted by the Unit of Maritime Law and Maritime Studies.
Presented by Professor Massimiliano Piras from the University of Cagliari, Italy as part of his short teaching visit to the Unit. The webinar was part of a hybrid event and marked a milestone for the Unit which turned a decade this year.
The other part of the event was a stakeholder engagement between Piras and the Unit’s Acting Director Dr Dusty Donnelly with key representatives of the province’s maritime sector held at the Unit located on the Howard College campus.
In his presentation, Piras argued that when there is no Master or crew on board the legal justification for a defense of nautical fault may fall away. He further envisages a future in which independent companies are likely to oversee vessel navigation for multiple owners.
Piras also added that autonomous systems running on board the ships will be controlled from remote pilot stations, and it will be an interesting question whether the owner of a ship is vicariously liable for the fault of the remote pilot. There may be complex disputes about where liability for damage caused by such a ship must fall. He highlighted several international conventions that will need to be modified to regulate the safety of navigation on unmanned ships.
School of Law’s honorary professor and judge of the Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa, Justice Malcolm Wallis supported Pira’s observations and remarked that even local rules such as the compulsory pilotage regime applicable in South Africa’s commercial ports may need to be revisited.
Master Mariner and alumnus of the Unit, Captain Ian Rosario of the Mediterranean Shipping Company also highlighted the difficulties mariners will face navigating congested waterways such as the Malacca Straits if small fishing crafts, conventional manned ships and unmanned and autonomous ships share the same waters.
Dr Donnelly is leading a small research group for students studying the impact of automation on the shipping industry. Anyone interested in this research may contact her via email: Donnellyd@ukzn.ac.za for further details.
Words: Ndaba Online
Photograph: Sethu Dlamini
