{"id":49405,"date":"2022-09-08T14:52:49","date_gmt":"2022-09-08T14:52:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2022\/09\/08\/are-autonomous-ships-and-vehicles-unamanned-or-uncrewed\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T18:35:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T18:35:09","slug":"are-autonomous-ships-and-vehicles-unamanned-or-uncrewed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/commentary\/2022\/09\/08\/are-autonomous-ships-and-vehicles-unamanned-or-uncrewed\/","title":{"rendered":"Are autonomous ships and vehicles \u2018unmanned\u2019 or \u2018uncrewed\u2019?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Like \u201cself-driving\u201d cars, <a href=\"https:\/\/books.google.co.uk\/books?id=aVmnDwAAQBAJ\">autonomous ships are a reality<\/a> and will likely revolutionize many aspects of shipping and maritime security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With <a href=\"https:\/\/www.agcs.allianz.com\/news-and-insights\/expert-risk-articles\/human-error-shipping-safety.html\">up to 95% of maritime accidents due to human error<\/a>, autonomous vessels offer the tantalizing possibility of greatly reduced risk to ship owners, as well as significant <a href=\"https:\/\/books.google.co.uk\/books?id=aVmnDwAAQBAJ\">cost efficiencies from reduced wage costs, estimated at 30%<\/a>, and greater fuel efficiency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Navies are also seeing the significant benefits in terms of cost efficiencies, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/technology\/2022\/04\/14\/navy-robot-ships\/\">increased operational capacities and reduced risk to human sailors<\/a>. The computer-based technology will necessarily entail an even greater reliance on algorithms, data, sensors and linked devices, which will create a host of new cyber vulnerabilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a paper developed in the framework of a research project funded by the European Union\u2019s Horizon 2020 Marie Curie fellowship, we examine the myriad legal and policy implications of autonomous vessels in international shipping.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One of the initial findings to come out of the research, however, relates not to security or tech or law, but to gender. As an institution dedicated to overcoming gender bias, the EU seeks for all its researchers to be aware of gender issues in their research, and to take steps to ensure gender-sensitive methods and outcomes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why is \u2018unmanned\u2019 so entrenched?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A majority of literature in this field from all sources \u2014 whether academic, governmental or other \u2014 tends to use the gender-biased terms \u201cmanned\u201d and \u201cunmanned.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The term \u201cunmanned\u201d is entrenched in a number of frequently used acronyms and abbreviations; for example, UMV \u2014 or unmanned maritime vehicles \u2014 and the <a href=\"https:\/\/sgp.fas.org\/crs\/weapons\/R45757.pdf\">U.S. Navy\u2019s multiple projects in this area<\/a> for large unmanned surface vehicles, medium unmanned surface vehicles and extra large unmanned undersea vehicles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nps.gov\/safr\/learn\/historyculture\/maritimewomenhistory.htm\">one article succinctly points out<\/a>: \u201cIt may be that the 19th century sailing vessel was a male dominated and defined world, yet women are assuredly part of this rich history.\u201d And it is rapidly increasing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the U.S. Navy, women represent <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cfr.org\/backgrounder\/demographics-us-military\">19% of officers and 20% of enlisted personnel<\/a>, and they serve in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.history.navy.mil\/browse-by-topic\/diversity\/women-in-the-navy.html\">every rank from seaman to admiral, and in every job<\/a> from naval aviator to deep-sea diver. In a similar vein, in 2019 women <a href=\"https:\/\/www.statista.com\/statistics\/579732\/strength-of-uk-armed-forces-by-gender\/\">were approximately 10% of the British Royal Navy\u2019s workforce<\/a>, and in that year the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.royalnavy.mod.uk\/news-and-latest-activity\/news\/2019\/april\/24\/190424-rn-one-of-top-employers-for-women#:~:text=The%20Royal%20Navy%20has%20been,gender%20equality%20in%20the%20workplace.\">Royal Navy was named as one of the U.K.\u2019s top employers for women<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The data demonstrate that existing simplistic assumptions and <a href=\"https:\/\/brill.com\/view\/book\/edcoll\/9789004375178\/BP000023.xml\">social stereotypes such as \u201cmen at sea and women on land\u201d<\/a> are no longer sustainable, and such single-dimensional, gendered approaches that only men can be expected to crew a seagoing vessel do not reflect the reality. In this framework, and in line with the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.un.org\/sustainabledevelopment\/gender-equality\/#:~:text=Goal%205%3A%20Achieve%20gender%20equality%20and%20empower%20all%20women%20and%20girls&#038;text=Gender%20equality%20is%20not%20only,peaceful%2C%20prosperous%20and%20sustainable%20world.\">United Nation\u2019s sustainable development goal No. 5<\/a> for gender equality, to recognize the contributions and achievements of non-men in this historically male-dominated sector, this article submits that the gender neutral terms \u201cuncrewed,\u201d \u201ccrewless\u201d and \u201cautonomous\u201d ought to be preferred in publications, whether from media, academia, government or nongovernmental organizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Is \u2018autonomous\u2019 the same as \u2018uncrewed\u2019?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It is important to note that \u201cautonomous\u201d and \u201cuncrewed\u201d are not equivalent terms. A vessel may be uncrewed but not autonomous, for example, if it is remotely controlled. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imo.org\/en\/MediaCentre\/HotTopics\/Pages\/Autonomous-shipping.aspx\">The International Maritime Organization\u2019s \u201cfour degrees of autonomy\u201d framework<\/a> reflects this distinction where a \u201cDegree Three\u201d ship is remotely controlled from another location with no seafarers onboard; whereas a \u201cDegree Four\u201d ship is fully autonomous and \u201cthe operating system of the ship is able to make decisions and determine actions by itself.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Usage of the gender-neutral term \u201cuncrewed\u201d is emerging in some recent literature; for example, the U.S. Government Accountability Office report to Congress titled \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.gao.gov\/assets\/gao-22-104567.pdf\">Uncrewed Maritime Systems: Navy Should Improve Its Approach to Maximize Early Investments<\/a>.\u201d While the <a href=\"https:\/\/wwwcdn.imo.org\/localresources\/en\/MediaCentre\/PressBriefings\/Documents\/MSC.1-Circ.1638%20-%20Outcome%20Of%20The%20Regulatory%20Scoping%20ExerciseFor%20The%20Use%20Of%20Maritime%20Autonomous%20Surface%20Ships...%20(Secretariat).pdf\">IMO\u2019s regulatory scoping exercise<\/a> adopted and predominantly used the neutral term \u201cMaritime Autonomous Surface Ships,\u201d the term \u201cunmanned\u201d still appears several times in the report. This development in the usage of gender-neutral terminology is promising and should be replicated by other governmental agencies and commentaries as well as in other fields such as aviation and space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The issue of gender-biased language is something that the land-based terminology in this field appears to have avoided to a large extent \u2014 we do not talk about \u201cunmanned cars,\u201d for example. In the field of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.chathamhouse.org\/sites\/default\/files\/2021-04\/2021-04-30-military-drones-europe-dorsey-amaral.pdf\">aviation, the term \u201cdrone\u201d has been commonly adopted<\/a>, and it has been used in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conflictarm.com\/download-file\/?report_id=2550&#038;file_id=2564\">some commentary in the maritime context<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/digital-commons.usnwc.edu\/ils\/vol87\/iss1\/11\">The gender-biased terms \u201cunmanned aerial vehicle\u201d<\/a> and \u201cunmanned aerial system\u201d are also used. In the realm of space travel, since the early 21st century NASA has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/manned#usage-1\">\u201cused and prescribed non-gender-specific terms<\/a>, preferring such descriptors as human, piloted, and crewed for the former, and unpiloted and uncrewed for the latter.\u201d Despite this conscious shift in terminology by the world-leading U.S. space agency, gender-biased terms are still frequently seen in commentary: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/pii\/B9780128210741000128\">for example, \u201cmanned space missions.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Titanic task of changing terms<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One reason for the continued use of this archaic terminology is embedded in legal instruments such as the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.un.org\/depts\/los\/convention_agreements\/texts\/unclos\/unclos_e.pdf\">United Nations Convention for the Law of the Sea<\/a>. For example, Article 29 defines warships as vessels that are \u201cmanned by a crew which is under regular armed forces discipline.\u201d This gendered terminology goes beyond just the seagoing crews; UNCLOS articles 62 and 119 refer to fishermen only, excluding the contribution of thousands of women to the fishing sector worldwide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This is not to imply that the titanic task of updating the UNCLOS should be undertaken with the primary focus on updating the terminology into a more gender-neutral one. Instead, it suggests that the long-standing, ongoing debate surrounding the vital need to update UNCLOS to meet more contemporary needs and challenges, such as outdated definitions, technological advancements, etc., should consider including the update on its gendered terminology in the discussion agenda as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And while gender-biased terminology like this in international law ought to be amended, until it actually happens, it should not create an obstacle to others to update terminology in their discussions, commentaries and reports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><i>This article was developed as part of the project titled \u201cHybrid threats to Indonesia\u2019s Maritime Security \u2014 an assessment of cyber and cyber-physical vulnerabilities in the world\u2019s busiest shipping lanes,\u201d and received funding from the European Union\u2019s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Sk\u0142odowska-Curie grant agreement No. 101029232.<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><i>Adam Fenton is a Marie Curie research fellow at Coventry University\u2019s Centre for Trust, Peace and Social Relations. Ioannis Chapsos is the research lead in maritime security at the center.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Most literature in this field from all sources \u2013 whether academic, governmental or other \u2013 tends to use the gender-biased terms \u201cmanned\u201d and \u201cunmanned.&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":112039,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":66,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[66,160,36,17,24,27,167],"tags":[],"coauthors":[7852,7854],"class_list":["post-49405","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-commentary","category-daily-news-roundup","category-newsletters","category-opinion","category-thought-leadership","category-unmanned","category-unmanned-systems"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"FUGAZLOF5BFYVDJH3UV7DK2CIE","arc_canonical_url":"\/unmanned\/2022\/09\/08\/are-autonomous-ships-and-vehicles-unamanned-or-uncrewed\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented 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