Brit maritime agency heralds fresh global rules for crewless cargo ships

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Brit maritime agency heralds fresh global rules for crewless cargo ships

If you thought driverless cars were bad, imagine a 200,000 ton container ship

Dan Robinson

Dan<br>Robinson

Published<br>sun 7 Jun 2026 // 12:00 UTC

Britain’s Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) says it helped to develop a code of safety for future remotely operated and autonomous cargo ships.<br>The executive body, responsible for maritime law and safety policy, represented the UK’s interests in working groups during development of the first non-mandatory International Code of Safety for Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS Code).<br>This code, set to be published by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) on July 1, is the first stab at a global regulatory framework covering uncrewed cargo ships.

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It will be followed by a mandatory MASS Code based on reviews of this set of regulations, slated for adoption in 2030, for entry into force on January 1, 2032.

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Autonomous vessels are already being tested out. In Norway, for example, a ship called the Yara Birkeland is used to carry chemicals and fertiliser from an industrial plant where they are produced to the deep-sea container harbor at Brevik, from where they are shipped to customers around the world.<br>Yara Birkeland is the world's first fully autonomous and electric zero-emission container ship, but is relatively small at about 80 meters (260 ft) long and a weight of 3,200 tonnes.<br>A scoping exercise by the IMO to help inform the regulations identified four degrees of autonomy - inspired by those applicable to self-driving cars.<br>Degree one has seafarers on board to operate and control shipboard systems and functions, although some operations may be automated. Degree two is a remotely controlled ship with crew aboard, able to take control if necessary. Degree three covers a remotely controlled ship without any crew, and Degree four is a fully autonomous ship.<br>The IMO said it identified a number of high-priority issues, cutting across several instruments, that must be addressed at a policy level in future. These involve the development of MASS terminology and definitions, particularly in clarification of who is responsible for the ship in Degrees Three and Four.<br>Others include actions normally be carried out by the crew, including firefighting, cargo stowage and securing, maintenance, watchkeeping and implications for search and rescue. The latter is a legally binding duty that applies to all vessels, without exception.

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“The maritime industry is inherently global, so progress towards a harmonised regulatory framework is vital to support consistency, fairness and – most importantly – safe operations internationally,” said MCA assistant director for Future Technical Standards Leanne Page.<br>“We’re very proud to have played a leading role in reaching this major milestone.”

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The next step is building a framework for an experience-building phase, the MCA says, to inform development of the mandatory MASS Code.<br>Both the MCA and the UK’s Department for Transport will continue industry consultations to provide further information and guidance on this new non-mandatory MASS Code. ®

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offbeat

Brit maritime agency heralds fresh global rules for crewless cargo ships

If you thought driverless cars were bad, imagine a 200,000 ton container ship

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