Maritime autonomous shipping: A UK-Taiwan joint cooperation in integrating the regulatory framework

国际航运是全球经济的命脉，全球80%以上的贸易由船舶运输。该行业主要由国际海事组织（IMO）监管，该组织是一个联合国机构，负责制定和维护主要与海上安全和环境保护有关的全球海事法规框架。许多研究表明，人为失误直接或间接地导致了80-90%的航运事故。为了应对人为失误带来的负面影响，海上自主水面舰艇（MASS）是一种新兴的解决方案，在海运业中越来越受到关注。国际海事组织将MASS定义为“在不同程度上可以独立于人类互动而运行的船舶”。除了减少人为失误外，MASS还带来了一些优势，例如提高安全性、降低运营成本、改善人力资源管理和减少污染。有许多与MASS设计和开发相关的项目，其中通过智能网络进行海上无人导航（MUNIN）是欧盟著名的项目之一，旨在通过岸基站将自动决策系统与远程控制相结合，开发自主船舶概念。此外，世界上第一艘自主集装箱船Yara Birkeland于2020年底交付。国际海事组织目前正在研究将自主船舶纳入安全、碰撞法规、海员和渔民培训、吨位测量等领域的监管框架。然而，自主船舶的运营面临着许多挑战，其中法规制定问题是主要挑战之一。国际海事组织质量工作组主席Henrik Tunfors表示，根据国际海事组织的程序，至少在十年内不会有关于质量的规则。这些挑战可能成为MASS发展的障碍，应该尽快解决。英国和台湾处于相关研究的前沿，在监管方面也是如此。自主航运是英国海事2050战略的核心，因为“海事自主系统等新技术可以使该行业更清洁、更安全、更高效”。此外，海事英国自治系统监管工作组（MASRWG）于2017年11月发布了首个行业行为准则，受到全球行业的赞誉。​本项目旨在通过研究相关国际法规，确定差距并提出消除监管障碍的方法来解决这一研究课题。与此同时，我们致力于促进英国和台湾研究机构之间的紧密合作，并让两国的更多利益相关者参与进来。为了实现这一目标，该项目将首先建立一个涵盖航运业和学术界（在英国和台湾）的国际网络，重点关注自主航运的潜在国际法规。其次，我们将通过文献综述学术论文和相关立法和专家意见来评估可能的MASS法规。将确定监管障碍，并提出消除这些障碍的措施。研究结果可以为该领域的未来研究提供有用的见解，我们也计划为决策者提供信息。

International shipping is the life blood of the global economy as vessels carry more than 80% of world trade. The industry is regulated primarily by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) - a United Nations agency, which develops and maintains the framework of global maritime regulations related mainly to maritime safety and environmental protection.Much research has shown that human error contributes to 80-90% of shipping accidents directly or indirectly. In order to deal with the negative impacts from human error, Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS) are an emerging solution and are attracting increasing attention in the maritime industry. MASS is defined by the IMO as "ships which, to a varying degree, can operate independently of human interaction". Apart from reducing human error, MASS also brings several advantages, such as enhancing safety and security, reducing operational costs, improving human resource management, and reducing pollution. There are a number of projects related to MASS design and development, in which Maritime Unmanned Navigation through Intelligence in Networks (MUNIN) is one of well-known EU project, which aims to develop an autonomous ship concept, by combining automated decision systems with remote control through a shore based station. In addition, Yara Birkeland, the world's first autonomous containership was delivered at the end of 2020. IMO is currently looking at the integration of autonomous ships in the regulatory framework on areas such as safety, collision regulations, training of seafarers and fishers, tonnage measurement and others. However, there are many challenges for the operations of autonomous ships, in which the issue of regulations development is one of the main challenges. Henrik Tunfors, Chair of the IMO MASS Working Group, stated that there will be no rules on MASS for at least ten years based on IMO process. These challenges can be barriers for the development of MASS and should be solved quickly. UK and Taiwan are at the frontend of relevant research, also on the regulatory aspect. Autonomous shipping is at the core of the UK Maritime 2050 strategy as "new technologies such as maritime autonomous systems can make the sector cleaner, safer and more efficient". In addition, the Maritime UK Autonomous Systems Regulatory Working Group (MASRWG) published the first code of practice to global industry-wide acclaim in November 2017. In Taiwan, the government also pays much attention to MASS and has enacted the so-called 'Unmanned Vehicles Technology Innovative Experimentation Act' in 2018 to encourage research and development, and the application of unmanned vehicle technology. This project aims at address this research topic by looking at the relevant international regulations, identifying gaps and proposes ways to remove the regulatory barriers. At the same time, we focus on fostering a strong collaboration between 4 UK and Taiwanese research institutions and also involving more stakeholders from both countries. To achieve the aim, this project will firstly establish an international network covering both the maritime industry and academia (in the UK and Taiwan) that focuses on the potential international regulations for autonomous shipping. Secondly, we will assess possible regulations for MASS through literature review of academic papers and the relevant legislation and expert opinion. Regulatory barriers will be identified and measure to remove them will be proposed. The results can provide useful insights for future research in this field and we also plan to inform decision-makers.