Author(s)

Sun Zitong ¹

Affiliation(s)

¹ Institute of Law, Dalian Maritime University, Dalian, China

Corresponding Author

Sun Zitong

ABSTRACT

The development of autonomous maritime vessels presents fundamental challenges to the traditional fault-based liability framework for ship collisions. This article examines whether existing collision liability rules can be directly applied to unmanned ship scenarios and argues that the fault-based regime encounters systemic and practical obstacles. Through an analysis of English maritime law, this article identifies three structural predicaments that render the fault-based framework inapplicable, namely, an evidentiary vacuum arising from the disjunction between technological advancement and the legal concept of fault, significant uncertainty in liability attribution generated by the multi-agent structure of autonomous vessel operations, and the diminished risk-transfer function of contractual recourse mechanisms. In response, this article advocates a strict liability framework centred on the shipowner, supplemented by liability limitation regimes and recourse mechanisms. This approach circumvents the evidentiary vacuum by decoupling liability from proof of specific human fault and provisionally resolves attribution uncertainty by concentrating external liability upon a single identifiable entity, while preserving the possibility of internal risk allocation through the shipowner's right of recourse against suppliers. The article concludes that this framework offers a viable institutional pathway for constructing future liability regimes suited to autonomous navigation technology.

KEYWORDS

Autonomous maritime vessels, ship collision liability, fault-based liability, strict liability, English maritime law, evidentiary vacuum

CITE THIS PAPER

Sun Zitong. Navigating the Regulatory Gap: From Fault-based to Strict Liability in Autonomous Vessel Collisions. Science of Law Journal (2026). Vol. 5, No.2, 8-13. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/DOI: 10.23977/law.2026.050202.

REFERENCES

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