The Continuing Advance Of Automated And Autonomous Vessels

(December 2020) - In October 2019, San Francisco Marine & Energy Partner David Russo spoke at the BiLog Conference in La Spezia, Italy about the advent of autonomous and highly automated vessels. Beyond the numerous legal and technical issues raised by the advancement of this technology (discussed in this article), it was noted at the conference that this technology was accelerating. It was expected then that an extended Atlantic voyage would happen in 2020. That has now occurred. 

In August 2020, the U.K. company Sea-Kit successfully operated its autonomous 12-meter vessel on a 22-day voyage mapping the ocean floor in the North Atlantic. The vessel was operated from the company's shoreside office. This followed an earlier test crossing of the North Sea.