A Case Study in the Application of Trusted Autonomous Systems (TAS) Australian Code of Practice to the Design, Construction, Survey, and Operation of New Build Autonomous & Remotely Operated Vessels

11 pages•Published: January 5, 2024

Allen Stotz, Levi Catton and Eliah Cameron

Abstract

The emergence of autonomous vessels presents opportunities and challenges for the maritime industry. Regulations relating to crewing or manning, safety equipment, watchkeeping, etc., normally applicable for crewed vessels, do not apply to Autonomous Surface Vessels (ASVs) which operate without onboard crew and are controlled, supervised or monitored by software or remote operator. Due to their nature, ASVs should have new standards developed to address risks relating to lack of onboard crew. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) is responsible for making rules that apply to all oceangoing vessels, including ASVs, and are working through those updates (International Maritime Organization, 2021). The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) has provided an interim framework of exemptions and guidance notices, and a dedicated support team to work with industry in navigating the uncertainty in application of extant principles, rules, and standards to ASVs. The Trusted Autonomous Systems (TAS) Defence Cooperative Research Center has developed a suite of tools to guide builders, owners and operators in the design, build and certification of ASVs; and advocacy groups such as the Australian Association for Uncrewed Systems (AAUS) are working to provide industry recommendations and “promote a professional, safe and commercially viable uncrewed systems industry” (Australian Association for Uncrewed Systems, 2023). This paper discusses the regulatory challenges experienced in Gibbs & Cox Australia’s new build Environmentally Powered, Modular Autonomous Platform System (EMAPS) project and the project experience navigating the regulatory misalignments and published guidance documents. The solutions (exemptions and equivalencies) are straightforward but rely on best practices rather than explicit requirements where regulations are misaligned.

Keyphrases: autonomous, autonomous surface vessels (asv), hydro regeneration, modular, payloads, solar powered

In: G. Reza Emad and Aditi Kataria (editors). Proceedings of the International Conference on Maritime Autonomy and Remote Navigation 2023, vol 2, pages 28-38.

Links:	https://easychair.org/publications/paper/K4sf
	https://doi.org/10.29007/b69s

BibTeX entry

@inproceedings{ICMARNAV2023:Case_Study_Application_Trusted,
  author    = {Allen Stotz and Levi Catton and Eliah Cameron},
  title     = {A Case Study in the Application of Trusted Autonomous Systems (TAS) Australian Code of Practice to the Design, Construction, Survey, and Operation of New Build Autonomous & Remotely Operated Vessels},
  booktitle = {Proceedings of the International Conference on Maritime Autonomy and Remote Navigation 2023},
  editor    = {G. Reza Emad and Aditi Kataria},
  series    = {EPiC Series in Technology},
  volume    = {2},
  publisher = {EasyChair},
  bibsource = {EasyChair, https://easychair.org},
  issn      = {2516-2322},
  url       = {/publications/paper/K4sf},
  doi       = {10.29007/b69s},
  pages     = {28-38},
  year      = {2024}}

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