Abstract
This chapter discusses autonomous and unmanned systems, their anticipated missions and tasks in times of peace and war, and the rules applicable to them while operating at sea with or without human intervention. These systems include both unmanned surface vessels and unmanned underwater vehicles. Rapid advances in artificial intelligence and maritime technology will allow unmanned systems to operate with some level of autonomy. Nonetheless, the integration of these systems to create a hybrid fleet of manned and unmanned platforms raises issues about their legal status as a ship, the rights and duties that inure to such systems regarding navigation at sea, and the ability of these systems to autonomously comply with existing international rules regarding safety of navigation, and whether such systems can conduct operations consistent with the law of armed conflict.
The views expressed in this chapter are those of the author and do not reflect the views of the U.S. Government, U.S. Department of Defense, or the U.S. Naval War College.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
CBO (2020, October). The Cost of the Navy’s New Frigate, Congressional Budget Office. https://www.cbo.gov/publication/56675. Accessed 28 May 2022.
Chicago Convention. (1944). Convention on International Civil Aviation, art. 8, annex 1 § 1.1, Dec. 7, 1944, 61 Stat. 1180, T.I.A.S. No. 1591, 15 U.N.T.S. 295.
CMI Position Paper. (2018). Comité Maritime International, CMI International Working Group Position Paper on Unmanned Ships and the International Regulatory Framework 3 (2018).
Colombos, C. (1967). International Law of the Sea § 270 (6th ed.).
COLREGs. (1972). Convention on International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea, Oct. 20, 1972, 28 U.S.T. 3459, T.I.A.S. 8587.
CRS R45757. (2021, July 15). Congressional Research Service, Pub. No. R45757, Navy Large Unmanned Surface and Undersea Vehicles: Background and Issues for Congress 4.
DoD Integrated Roadmap. (2014). U.S. Department of Defense, Pub. No. 14-S-0553, Unmanned Systems Integrated Roadmap: FY2013–2038 (p. 20).
DoD Law of War Manual. (2016). Office of General Counsel, U.S. Department of Defense, Law of War Manual.
DoDI 4540.01. (2015). U.S. Department of Defense, Pub. No. 4540.01, Instruction: Use of International Airspace by U.S. Military Aircraft and for Missile and Projectile Firings 11.
Eckstein, M. (2020, November 10). Pentagon ‘Ghost Fleet’ Ship Makes Record-Breaking Trip from Mobile to California. USNI News. https://news.usni.org/2020/11/10/pentagon-ghost-fleet-ship-makes-record-breaking-trip-from-mobile-to-california. Accessed 14 May 2022.
Eckstein, M. (2021, September 8). Gilday: New task force will help US Navy speed up unmanned system integration. Defense News. https://www.defensenews.com/naval/2021/09/08/gilday-new-task-force-will-help-us-navy-speed-unmanned-system-integration/. Accessed 15 May 2022.
Engelhardt, D. (2021, Winter). Transformational warfare—The “Why” of unmanned, a personal perspective. The Disruptor (Issue #1).
Hague VII. (1907). Convention No. VII relating to the conversion of Merchant Ships into Warships, Oct. 18, 1907, 205 Consol. T.S. 319.
Howard, B. (2021, June 4). Quiet, deadly and expensive: The Navy’s costly plan to upgrade aging submarines. CNBC. https://www.cnbc.com/2021/06/04/quiet-deadly-and-expensive-the-navys-costly-plan-to-upgrade-aging-submarines.html. Accessed 21 May 2022.
ICAO Cir 328. (2011). International Civil Aviation Organization [ICAO], Cir. No. 328 (AN/190), Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS).
IMO Doc. MSC.1/Circ.1604. (2019, June 14). IMO Doc. MSC.1/Circ.1604, Interim Guidelines for MASS Trials.
IMO Doc. MSC 98/20/2. (2017, February 27). IMO Doc. MSC 98/20/2, Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships: Proposal for a regulatory scoping exercise (MASS RSE), Submitted by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, the Republic of Korea, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
IMO Doc. MSC.99/WP.9. (2018, May 23). IMO Doc. MSC.99/WP.9, Regulatory scoping exercise for the use of Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS), Report of the Working Group.
IMO Doc. MSC 99/INF.8. (2018a, February 13). IMO Doc. MSC 99/INF.8, Work conducted by the CMI International Working Group on Unmanned Ships, annex 1.
IMO Doc. MSC 99/20. (2018b, February 13). IMO Doc. MSC 99/20, Report of the Maritime Safety Committee on its Ninety-Ninth Session, at annex 1.
IMO Doc. MSC/99/22. (2018, June 5). IMO Doc. MSC/99/22, Report of the Maritime Safety Committee on its Ninety-Ninth Session.
IMO Doc. MSC.1/Circ.1638. (2021, June 3). Outcome of the regulatory scoping exercise for the use of Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS).
IMO Doc. MSC 100/20/Add.1. (2018, December 7). IMO Doc. MSC 100/20/Add.1, Report of the Maritime Safety Committee on its One Hundredth Session, at annex 2, 1.
IMO Res. MSC. 99(73). (2000, December 5). Adoption of Amendments to the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, as amended.
Kraska, J. (1995). Autonomous and Expendable Marine Instruments in U.S. and International Law. Ocean Development & International Law, 26, 311–355.
Kraska, J. (2010). Unmanned Naval Systems and International Law. 5 Journal Ocean Technology, 5, 44–68.
LaGrone, S. (2021). Two More ‘Ghost Fleet’ Unmanned Test Ships to Join Fleet Next Year. USNI News. https://news.usni.org/2021/07/13/two-more-ghost-fleet-unmanned-test-ships-to-join-fleet-next-year. Accessed 4 May 2022.
LDC. (1972). Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter, Dec. 29, 1972, 26 U.S.T. 2403, 1046 U.N.T.S. 120.
Lopez, T. (2021, January 13). DoD’s Autonomous Vessel Sails Through Transit Test, Participates in Exercise Dawn Blitz. Dep’t. of Defense, Defense News. https://www.defense.gov/Explore/News/Article/Article/2471165/dods-autonomous-vessel-sails-through-transit-test-participates-in-exercise-dawn/. Accessed 11 May 2022.
Macias, A. (2018, April 25). The first drone warship just joined the Navy and now nearly every element of it is classified. CNBC. https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/25/first-drone-warship-joins-us-navy-nearly-every-element-classified.html
MARPOL. (1973/1978). International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, art. 2, Nov. 2, 1973, 12 I.L.M. 1319; Protocol of 1978 Relating to the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, Feb. 17, 1978, 17 I.L.M. 546.
Naval Technology. (2018, May 3). Sea Hunter: Inside the US Navy’s autonomous submarine tracking vessel. Naval Technology. https://www.naval-technology.com/features/sea-hunter-inside-us-navys-autonomous-submarine-tracking-vessel/. Accessed 8 May 2022.
Naval Technology. (2019, July 1). Orca XLUUV: Boeing’s whale of an unmanned sub. Naval Technology. https://www.naval-technology.com/features/boeing-orca-xluuv-unmanned-submarine/
Navy Regs. (1990). U.S. Department of the Navy, United States Navy Regulations art. 0406 (1990).
Navy Strategic Roadmap. (2021). U.S. Department of the Navy, Strategic Roadmap for Unmanned Systems (Short Version).
Navy USV Master Plan. (2007). U.S. Department of the Navy, The Navy Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV) Master Plan xi, 1–3.
Navy UUV Master Plan. (2004). U.S. Department of the Navy, The Navy Unmanned Undersea Vehicle (UUV) Master Plan xvi, xx–xxii (2004).
NWP 1-14M. (2017). U.S. Navy, Pub. No. NWP 1-14M, The Commander’s Handbook on the Law of Naval Operations.
Oxford Manual. (1913). International Institute of International Law, Manual of the Laws of Naval War art. 12.
Paris Declaration. (1856, April 16), Paris Declaration Respecting Maritime Law, reprinted in 46 British & Foreign State Papers, 26–27 (1865).
Roblin, S. (2019, October 20). The U.S. Navy has Orca Robot submarines on the way that could transform Naval warfare. The National Interest. https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/us-navy-has-orca-robot-submarines-way-could-transform-naval-warfare-89721. Accessed 15 June 2022.
SECNAVINST 5030.8C. (2016). U.S. Department of the Navy, Secretary of the Navy Instruction 5030.8C, General Guidance for the Classification of Naval Vessels and Battle Force Ship County Procedures.
SOLAS. (1974). International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, Nov. 1, 1974, 32 U.S.T. 47, T.I.A.S. 9700.
SUA. (2005, November 1). IMO Doc. LEG/CONF. 15/21, Adoption of the Final Act and Any Instruments, Recommendations and Resolutions Resulting from the Work of the Conference, Protocol of 2005 to the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Maritime Navigation.
The Muscat Dhows. (1916). The Muscat Dhows Case (Fr. v. Gr. Brit.), Hague Ct Rep. (Scott) 93, 96 (Perm. Ct. Arb. 1916).
UNCLOS. (1982). United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, Dec. 10, 1982, 1833 U.N.T.S. 397.
U.S.C. § 6011. (2018).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2023 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Pedrozo, R. (2023). Advent of a New Era in Naval Warfare: Autonomous and Unmanned Systems. In: Johansson, T.M., Fernández, J.E., Dalaklis, D., Pastra, A., Skinner, J.A. (eds) Autonomous Vessels in Maritime Affairs. Studies in National Governance and Emerging Technologies. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-24740-8_4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-24740-8_4
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-031-24739-2
Online ISBN: 978-3-031-24740-8
eBook Packages: Political Science and International StudiesPolitical Science and International Studies (R0)