Legal Assessment of Seaworthiness in Autonomous Cargo Ships: Is It Time for a Change?

Year 2020, Volume: 3 Issue: 2, 803 - 926, 08.06.2021

Mustafa Yılmaz

Abstract

Nowadays, the exponential growth in technological advances in the shipping industry appears to justify the proposition of that autonomous merchant ships and traditional ones are on the eve of an era in which they will start sailing together in the seas. Since it is expected that the autonomous ships shall enhance economic, ecological and social sustainability, so that they ensure safe and environmentally friendly operations, whether or not the existing international conventions could pose a hurdle to the autonomous ships in the sense of seaworthiness is becoming more and more the focal point of the discussions. In this paper, a comprehensive illustration of the concept of seaworthiness particularly in the light of case law will first be submitted, and following that, the concept of autonomous ship will be enunciated as well as a discussion of whether it could be considered as a ship. Considering these, this paper will seek an answer to the question of whether, or how, the autonomous ships could fulfil the requirement of properly manning laid down in Article III (1-b) of the Hague/Hague-Visby Rules. It is followed by a comparative analysis of how the carrier’s duty to provide a seaworthy ship could be aligned with autonomous shipping in the scope of the Hague/Hague-Visby Rules, the Hamburg Rules and the Rotterdam Rules.

Keywords

Seaworthiness, Autonomous Ships, Remotely Controlled Ships, Unmanned Ships, International Conventions

Otonom Kargo Gemilerde Sefere Elverişliliğin Hukuki Değerlendirilmesi: Değişim Zamanı Mı?

Abstract

Günümüzde, denizcilik sektöründe giderek artan teknolojik gelişmeler, otonom ticari gemilerin ve geleneksel gemilerin denizlerde birlikte yelken açmaya başlayacakları bir çağın arifesinde olunduğu önermesini haklı çıkarıyor gibi görünmektedir. Otonom gemilerin ekonomik, ekolojik ve sosyal sürdürülebilirliği geliştireceği, bu suretle de güvenli ve çevre dostu operasyonları garanti edeceği ve bu yönde avantajlar sağlayacağı düşünülmektedir. Buna karşılık, gerek ulusal gerekse uluslararası düzenlemeler gemide insan unsuru dikkate alınarak tasarlandığından, otonom gemilerin kullanılmaya başlanması pek çok tartışmayı da beraberinde getirecektir. Taşıyanın sefere elverişli bir gemi bulundurma yükümlülüğünün otonom gemiler bakımından nasıl yorumlanması gerektiği de bu tartışmaların odak noktasında yer almaktadır. Bu makale de, öncelikle sefere elverişlilik kavramı ve bunun unsurları bilhassa içtihat hukuku ışığında kapsamlı bir biçimde incelenecek olup, ardından otonom gemiler tanımlanacak ve bu tür gemilerin gemi olarak kabul edilip edilmeyeceği tartışılacaktır. Akabinde, otonom gemilerde Lahey/Lahey-Visby Kuralları m. III (1-b)’de yer alan gemiye gereği gibi gemi adamı sağlamak ibaresinin nasıl ele alınması gerektiği ve bu şartın bu tür gemilerde nasıl karşılanacağı ya da karşılanıp karşılanamayacağı incelenecektir. Son olarak da, otonom gemilerde taşıyanın sefere elverişli bir gemi bulundurma yükümlülüğüne ilişkin Lahey/Lahey-Visby Kuralları, Hamburg Kuralları ve Rotterdam Kuralları kapsamında karşılaştırmalı bir değerlendirme sunulacaktır.

Keywords

Sefere Elverişlilik, Otonom Gemiler, Uzaktan Kumandalı Gemiler, Mürettebatsız Gemiler, Uluslararası Sözleşmeler

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