About the project

Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS), which are defined by the IMO (2018) as “ships which, to a varying degree, can operate independently of human interaction”, are attracting increasing attention in the maritime industry as an emerging solution to reduce human errors. Several advantages of MASS have been identified in the literature, such as enhancing safety and security, improving human resource management, reducing operational costs and reducing air pollution.

 

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. The UK is at the frontend of developments; 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 pays much attention in MASS and has legislated Unmanned Vehicles Technology Innovative Experimentation Act in 2018 to encourage the research and development and the application of unmanned vehicle technology. According to Taiwan Institute of Economic Research, the MASS development from 2020 to 2022 mainly focuses on the construction of inland water MASS passenger boats conforming with LR Accessibility Levels (ALs) 2 and 3. The highlights for the period between 2022 and 2024 are the erection of MASS boats for coastal petrol and sightseeing purposes with AL 3 and 4 degrees.

 

This project is developed and collaborated by four universities in both the UK and Taiwan, including Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU), University of Plymouth (UoP), National Taiwan Ocean University (NTOU), and Feng Chia University (FCU). In this project, we aim to address the regulations that can be relevant to Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS) with the following main objectives:

(1)        To establish an international network of scholars focusing on the potential regulations for MASS.

(2)        To identify relevant regulations for MASS and the issues of incorporating provisions for autonomous ships.

(3)        To prioritise the regulations that need to be modified and provide insights on how these regulations can be modified to suit the ever-changing regulatory environment. 

(4)        To establish connection between LJMU, and in particular the Liverpool Logistics, Offshore and Marine Research Institute (LOOM), and the Taiwanese shipping industry and government agencies.

(5)        To foster a long term collaboration between LJMU and the National Taiwan Ocean University