This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: If a remotely operated oil tanker causes a spill, the shipowner remains responsible for compensating victims under existing international rules. But another question remains unresolved: Can the person controlling the ship from shore also be sued directly for negligence?
A legal study from Koç University examines how the rise of remotely operated and autonomous vessels is exposing uncertainty within the international system governing compensation for oil pollution. Published in Transnational Environmental Law, the study was conducted by Ayşegül Buğra Şar of Koç University Law School. It focuses on the legal status of remote operators under the 1992 International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage, commonly known as CLC 92.
The growing use of autonomous and remotely operated vessels is changing the traditional structure of maritime operations. Duties once performed by a captain and crew on board may now be undertaken by specialists working in a remote operations center, potentially located in another country. These operators may navigate vessels, monitor their systems, respond to emergencies and take measures to prevent pollution.
Yet international conventions written for conventionally crewed ships do not clearly establish whether remote operators receive the same legal protections as masters, crew members and pilots. Under CLC 92, liability for oil pollution damage is channeled primarily to the shipowner. The owner is held strictly liable, meaning that victims generally do not need to prove the owner was personally at fault to obtain compensation.
The convention also protects several other parties from direct negligence claims by victims. These include the ship's crew, pilots, charterers, managers and people taking preventive measures. Such parties may generally be sued directly only when the damage resulted from an intentional act or reckless conduct committed with knowledge that pollution was likely to occur.
This channeling system is designed to make compensation faster and more predictable. Instead of forcing victims to identify and pursue every person who may have contributed to a spill, claims are directed toward the shipowner, the owner's insurer and, where applicable, international compensation funds. Remote operators, however, are not explicitly included in the convention's list of protected parties.
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