The Institute of International Shipping and Trade Law (IISTL), in collaboration with NASAMER (Koc University), organised a one-day Colloquium in Istanbul on 14 May 2019. The objective of the event was to evaluate the legal position and insurance issues concerning autonomous ships.
Professor Soyer delivering his paper at the event
Three members of the Institute, namely Barış Soyer, Bülent Sözer and Richard Williams, delivered papers on various aspects of the debate and engaged in panel discussions. Two academics from Turkey, Dr Aysegul Bugra (Director of NASAMER) and Professor Samim Ünan (Galatasaray University) were also involved in the delivery of the programme, offering their insight on the subject. Those who participated the event, including lawyers, seafarers, insurers, academics and government representatives, engaged in very interesting discussions at the end of each session.
One thing was evident: more work on the legal aspects of this technological debate is needed. In fact, the IISTL has an ongoing project on the subject, undertaken by six of its members. The first major output of this project is expected in 2020.
Professors Williams (IISTL), Unan (Galatasaray University) and Sozer (IISTL) at a panel discussion
First published May 2019