The Institute of International Shipping and Trade Law (IISTL) is actively engaged in the debate on accommodating emerging technologies into shipping and commercial law.
Recently three senior members, Professors Soyer and Tettenborn and Associate Professor Leloudas, were awarded a grant from the Assuring Autonomy International Programme (known as AAIP) to consider regulatory challenges concerning remote-controlled and autonomous shipping, and to report on it at the end of the year.
In pursuance of this project, the IISTL collaborated with AAIP in holding an expert workshop on remote-controlled and autonomous shipping intended to bring stakeholders and regulators together.
The event was an unprecedented success, attracting not only vital regulators such as the Marine and Coastguard Agency and the Danish Maritime Authority, but experts from an enormous variety of organisations: Gard P & I and the Shipowner’s Club, Lloyd’s Register, Marsh, Eastern Mediterranean Maritime Ltd, Associated British Ports, BIMCO, the UK Hydrographic Office, Safe Marine, Holland & Knight LLP and York University.
The event provided the best of platforms to deliberate the initial findings of the IISTL. Suffice it to say that debate was lively, informative and enormously helpful in moving the project forward.