Public consultation commences on draft Australian Code of Practice for the Design, Construction, Survey and Operation of Autonomous & Remotely Operated Vessels

By Rachel Horne, Assurance of Autonomy Activity Lead, TAS

On Monday, 15 November 2021 Trusted Autonomous Systems (TAS) released the draft Australian Code of Practice for the Design, Construction, Survey and Operation of Autonomous & Remotely Operated Vessels (‘Australian Code of Practice’) for public consultation over a four-week period.

Access the draft Australian Code of Practice and Consultation Explanatory Materials

Development of the Code of Practice was informed by an analysis of existing, publicly available codes and guidelines for autonomous and remotely operated vessels[1] and significant stakeholder engagement.

The draft Australian Code of Practice was also informed by in-depth analysis and decomposition of the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea, 1972 (COLREGs). Further information on TAS’s COLREGs project is available here.

The draft Australian Code of Practice is intended to represent best practice and deliver greater certainty to industry by providing voluntary, clear standards that are tailored for common autonomous and remotely operated vessels in Australia.

What has been the process for the development of the Code?

What will happen after public consultation closes?

After public consultation closes all feedback will be reviewed and then:

  • A Consultation Feedback Report will be prepared
  • The Australian Code of Practice will be updated
  • Guidance Materials will be finalised, and
  • The updated Australian Code of Practice and accompanying Guidance Materials will be released for use on the TAS website in February 2022. It is expected that this material will also be available on the AMSA website.

Where can I get more information?

To access more information on the Australian Code of Practice project, you can:

TAS would like to thank all parties who contributed to the development of the draft Australian Code of Practice, including particularly Maaike Vanderkooi of Vanderkooi Consulting who led the development on TAS’s behalf, and Rob Dickie of Frazer Nash Consultancy who led the COLREGs project on TAS’s behalf, together with his team Marceline Overduin and Andrejs Jaudzems.

[1] UK Code of Practice for Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships, the LR Code for Unmanned Marine Systems, and DNV GL’s Autonomous and Remotely-operated Ships Class Guideline