BIMCO has adopted the AUTOSHIPMAN agreement in response to the growing number of remotely controlled ships.
The AUTOSHIPMAN agreement provides a standard contractual foundation for third-party ship managers to deliver services for the operation of remotely controlled or fully autonomous ships.
The agreement was developed using the widely adopted SHIPMAN Agreement to regulate commercial services and provide the framework for obligations, responsibilities and liabilities. One of the main features of AUTOSHIPMAN is the flexibility that allows ships to change operational modes even while sailing.
Flexibility is important because it may be a legal requirement for remotely controlled vessels to be partially or fully manned when crossing territorial waters of a jurisdiction or for calling at a port.
Grant Hunter, Director, Standard, Innovation and Research at BIMCO, stated that “AUTOSHIPMAN is a first step by BIMCO into the commercial operation of remotely controlled ships, and perhaps eventually fully autonomous ships. During the development of AUTOSHIPMAN, we were assisted by legal and insurance experts, and we have gained valuable insight throughout the process from companies who are already operating ships remotely around the world,”
Translation by Giles Foster
