russian prime minister mikhail mishustin signed a decree on conducting an experiment on the operation of autonomous (unmanned) vessels from december 10, 2020 to the end of 2025, the corresponding document is published on the official website of the government.
it also explains that the owners of unmanned vessels participate in the experiment voluntarily and at their own expense. Information about launching an autonomous vessel should be transmitted to cargo owners, insurers, as well as to port captains and control system operators in the area where the drone vessel is floating. In addition to shipowners, the participants of the experiment are the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, and Rosmorrechflot.
Russia has become the first country in the world to develop national legislation for the operation of autonomous vessels. The Ministry of Industry and Trade has also developed and submitted to the Government a federal law on legal relations arising from the use of autonomous vessels, and the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping has developed documents on their classification. According to available information, the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation and Rosmorechflot are currently developing legal norms for the use of autonomous vessels that will operate on the basis of GLONASS technology and Russian software.
Currently, the systems are tested in real conditions on four vessels at once: the Mikhail Ulyanov tanker (Sovcomflot PJSC), the Pola Anfisa dry cargo ship (Pola Rise LLC), and the Rabochaya ground removal barge in conjunction with the Redut dredger (Rosmorport FSUE).
