Autonomous ships continue to attract the attention of researchers and developers, and several (smaller scale) autonomous vessels such as survey craft and ferries are already operational. On the legal side, however, many questions are still open.
- Date
- Thursday 19 Jun 2025, 13:00 - Friday 20 Jun 2025, 16:05
- Type
- Seminar
- Spoken Language
- English
- Room
- Forum theater
- Building
- Van der Goot Building
- Location
- Campus Woudestein
The MASS Rotterdam Conference will delve into these legal questions. What is the impact of the recent European AI Act on the development of autonomous vessels? What is the purpose and scope of the MASS Code that IMO is developing? What consequences may autonomous vessels have for the charterparties and contracts of carriage in use today? How will the pilotage of autonomous vessels work, and what implications might there be for the investigation of maritime casualties involving MASS? A proper legal analysis of these and other questions requires an understanding of the technical realities.
The MASS Rotterdam Conference will therefore also introduce an insight in the technology used in autonomous ships. Artificial Intelligence (AI) will obviously play a role, but which type of AI, with which characteristics? What is the situation in the field of automated collision avoidance and COLREGS compliance?
Finally, the MASS Rotterdam Conference will be looking at the perspective of other interested parties. How do the shipyards that will be designing and building autonomous ships approach possible risks and liabilities? What does it take to convince regulators that the technology is mature enough to allow it to be used in day-to-day practice?
A panel of expert speakers will answer these questions during a two day conference in the world port city of Rotterdam.
We are pleased to invite you to special presentations by, among others, Prof. Dr. Mihael Miso Mudric, Dr. Frank Stevens and Capt. Jeroen Weyn. In these presentations a large range of topics such as the EU AI Act and its implications for shipping and digital navigation will be covered.
The Conference is accredited by the 'Orde van Vlaamse Balies' (OVB) for 8 points.
Event Details:
- Date: June 19th and 20th
- Time:
- June 19th 2025 from 13:00 – 17:00, followed by a Conference Dinner at 19:00.
- June 20th 2025 from 09:00 – 16:05.
- Location:
- The presentations will take place in the 'Forum' lecture theatre of the Van Der Goot-building on the campus of Erasmus University.
- The Conference Dinner will take place at the Koninklijke Roei- en Zeilvereeniging ’De Maas’ in Rotterdam.
- Price: the registration fee for his two day Conference is € 345.
Register for this event using the form below.
Registration form
Download the programme
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