Table of Reference
Primary sources
EU Regulations
Regulation (EU) No 1025/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012 on European standardisation, amending Council Directives 89/686/EEC and 93/15/EEC and Directives 94/9/EC, 94/25/EC, 95/16/EC, 97/23/EC, 98/34/EC, 2004/22/EC, 2007/23/EC, 2009/23/EC and 2009/105/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Council Decision 87/95/EEC and Decision No 1673/2006/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (2012) OJ L, 316 2012/1025
Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation) OJ L, 119 2016/679 (GDPR)
Regulation (EU) 2023/1805 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 September 2023 on the use of renewable and low-carbon fuels in maritime transport, and amending Directive 2009/16/EC (2023) OJ L, 234 2023/1805
Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/2599 of 22 November 2023 laying down rules for the application of Directive 2003/87/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the administration of shipping companies by administering authorities in respect of a shipping company (2023)
Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 June 2024 laying down harmonised rules on artificial intelligence and amending Regulations (EC) No 300/2008, (EU) No 167/2013, (EU) No 168/2013, (EU) 2018/858, (EU) 2018/1139 and (EU) 2019/2144 and Directives 2014/90/EU, (EU) 2016/797 and (EU) 2020/1828 (Artificial Intelligence Act) (2024) OJ L, 2024/1689 (AIA)
Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/1975 of 19 July 2024 laying down rules for the application of Directive 2014/90/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council, as regards design, construction and performance requirements and testing standards for marine equipment and repealing Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) (2023)
EU Directives
Council Directive 96/98/EC of 20 December 1996 on marine equipment (1996) OJ L 046
Directive 2009/73/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 July 2009 concerning common rules for the internal market in natural gas and repealing Directive 2003/55/EC (2009) OJ L 211
Directive 2013/53/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 November 2013 on recreational craft and personal watercraft and repealing Directive 94/25/EC (2013) OJ L 354
Directive 2014/34/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on the harmonisation of the laws of the Member States relating to equipment and protective systems intended for use in potentially explosive atmospheres (2014) OJ L 096
Directive 2014/90/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 July 2014 on marine equipment and repealing Council Directive 96/98/EC (2014) OJ L 257 (MED)
Directive (EU) 2022/2555 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 December 2022 on measures for a high common level of cybersecurity across the Union, amending Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 and Directive (EU) 2018/1972, and repealing Directive (EU) 2016/1148 (NIS 2 Directive) (2022) OJ L 333 (NIS2)
Directive (EU) 2022/2557 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 December 2022 on the resilience of critical entities and repealing Council Directive 2008/114/EC (2022) OJ L 333 (CER)
Directive (EU) 2024/1788 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 June 2024 on common rules for the internal markets for renewable gas, natural gas and hydrogen, amending Directive (EU) 2023/1791 and repealing Directive 2009/73/EC
Delegated Acts from the European Commission
Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/2450 of 25 July 2023 supplementing Directive (EU) 2022/2557 of the European Parliament and of the Council by establishing a list of essential services (2023)
Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2024/1295 of 26 February 2024 on harmonised technical specifications and testing standards for fire hoses (2024)
Guidelines from the European Commission
The European Commission, "Approval of the content of the draft Communication from the Commission - Commission Guidelines on prohibited artificial intelligence system practices established by Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 (AI Act)" COM (04 February 2025) 884 final (Guidelines on Prohibited Artificial Intelligence Practises)
The European Commission, "Approval of the content of the draft Communication from the Commission - Commission Guidelines on the definition of an artificial intelligence system established by Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 (AI Act)" COM (06 February 2025) 924 final (Guidelines on the Definition of an AI system)
Other EU-relevant guidelines
EU Operational Guidelines on trials of Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS) (Version 1 October 2020), available at 9987d7c6-3e10-4206-b71d-2340807f3984_en.
Documents from the European Commission
European Commission, "Explanatory Memorandum to the Proposal for a Regulation laying down harmonised rules on artificial intelligence (Artificial Intelligence Act)" COM (2021) 206 final
Decisions from the European Court of Justice (CJEU)
Case C-77/83 Srl CILFIT and others and Lanificio di Gavardo SpA v Ministero della sanità (1984) EU:C:1984:91
Judgments from the General Court (EGC)
Joined Cases T‑60/06 RENV II and T‑62/06 RENV II, Italian Republic and Eurallumina SpA v European Commission (2016) ECLI:EU:T:2016:233
International conventions
Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (adopted 20 October 1972, entered into force 15 July 1977) 1050 UNTS 16 (COLREGs)
International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (adopted 2 November 1973, modified by Protocol of 1978, entered into force 2 October 1983) 1340 UNTS 184 (MARPOL)
International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (adopted 1 November 1974, entered into force 25 May 1980) 1184 UNTS 278 (SOLAS)
International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (adopted 7 July 1978, entered into force 28 April 1984) 1361 UNTS 190 (STCW)
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (adopted 10 December 1982, entered into force 16 November 1994) 1833 UNTS 3 (UNCLOS)
Treaty on European Union (1992) OJ C 191/1 (TEU)
Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (2012) OJ C 326/47 (TFEU)
Circulars and resolutions from the International Maritime Organization (IMO)
The Maritime Safety Committee Resolution 252(83), Adoption of the Revised Performance Standards for Integrated Navigation Systems (INS) (8 October 2007)
The International Maritime Organization, Interim Guidelines for Mass Trials, MSC.1/Circ.1604 (14 June 2019)
Documents from the IMO
The Maritime Safety Committee Session 109 Agenda item 5, Development of a Goal-Based Instrument for Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS) (5 December 2024), available at https://docs.imo.org/ (The draft MASS Code)
Legal documents from national authorities
Government of Norway, Ministry of Local Government and Modernisation, "Norwegian Position Paper on the European Commission’s Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council Laying Down Harmonised Rules on Artificial Intelligence (Artificial Intelligence Act) and Amending Certain Union Legislative Acts (COM(2021) 206)" (2021), available at https://www.regjeringen.no/contentassets/939c260c81234eae96b6a1a0fd32b6de/norwegian-position-paper-on-the-ecs-proposal-for-a-regulation-of-ai.pdf, accessed 21 January 2025.
Secondary sources
Legal literature – books
Bradford, Anu, The Brussels Effect: How the European Union Rules the World (1st ed, Oxford University Press 2020).
Delaney, Helen and van de Zande, Rene, A Guide to EU Standards and Conformity Assessment (1st ed, National Institute of Standards and Technology (U.S.) 2000).
Eftestøl, Ellen J, Bask, Anu, and Huemers, Maximilian (eds), Towards a Zero-Emissions and Digitalized Transport Sector: Law, Regulation, and Logistics (Edward Elgar Publishing 2024).
Falkanger, Thor, Bull, Hans Jacob, and Brautaset, Lasse, Scandinavian Maritime Law (4th ed, Universitetsforlaget 2017).
Petrig, Anna, Unconventional Lawmaking in the Law of the Sea (Natalie Klein ed, Oxford University Press 2022).
Ringbom, Henrik, Røsæg, Erik, and Solvang, Trond (eds), Autonomous Ships and the Law (1st ed, Routledge 2021).
Schütze, Robert, An Introduction to European Law (4th ed, Oxford University Press 2023).
Soyer, Bariş and Tettenborn, Andrew (eds), Artificial Intelligence and Autonomous Shipping: Developing the International Legal Framework (Hart Publishing 2021).
Voigt, Paul and Hullen, Nils, The EU AI Act: Answers to Frequently Asked Questions (1st ed, Springer 2024).
Woods, Lorna, Watson, Philippa, Costa, Marios, Steiner & Woods EU Law (13th ed, Oxford University Press 2017).
Legal literature – legal journals
Almada, Marco and Radu, Anca, 'The Brussels Side-Effect: How the AI Act Can Reduce the Global Reach of EU Policy' (2024) 25 Ger. Law J. 646.
Doroga, Sorina and Mercescu, Alexandra, 'A Call to Impossibility: The Methodology of Interpretation at the European Court of Justice and the PSPP Ruling' (2021) 13 EJLS 87.
Stępień, Barbara, 'Navigating New Waters: IMO’s Efforts to Regulate Autonomous Shipping' (2024) 23 Chin. J. Int. Law 599.
Other scientific journals
Akdağ, Melih, Solnør, Petter and Johansen, Tor Arne, 'Collaborative Collision Avoidance for Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships: A Review' (2022) 250 Ocean Eng. 110920.
Emad, Gholam Reza, Enshaei, Hossein and Ghosh, Samrat, 'Identifying Seafarer Training Needs for Operating Future Autonomous Ships: A Systematic Literature Review' (2021) 14 AJMOA 114.
Jin, Seungje and Lee, Kwangil, 'Gap Analysis and Harmonization of International Standards for Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships' (2024) 2867 J. Phys. 012051.
Madsen, Andreas Nygard and Kim, Tae Eun, 'A State-of-the-Art Review of AI Decision Transparency for Autonomous Shipping' (2024) 8 J. Int. Marit. Saf..
Pietrzykowski, Zbigniew, Wołejsza, Piotr, Nozdrzykowski, Łukasz, Borkowski, Piotr, Banaś, Paweł, Magaj, Janusz, Chomski, Jarosław, Mąka, Marcin, Mielniczuk, Sylwia, Pańka, Anna, Hatłas-Sowińska, Paulina, Kulbiej, Eric and Nozdrzykowska, Magdalena, 'The Autonomous Navigation System of a Sea-Going Vessel' (2022) 261 Ocean Eng. 112104.
Tabish, Nimra and Chaur-Luh, Tsai, 'Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships: A Review of Cybersecurity Challenges, Countermeasures, and Future Perspectives' (2024) 12 IEEE 17114.
Tarafder, Agnidipto and Vadlamani, Aniruddh, 'Will the EU AI Regulations Give Rise to Another ‘Brussels Effect’? Lessons from the GDPR.' (2025) 10 JDPP 45.
van den Broek, J (Hans), Griffioen, J R (Jaco) and van der Drift, M (Monique), 'Meaningful Human Control in Autonomous Shipping: An Overview' (2020) 929 Mater. Sci. Eng. 012008.
van Leeuwen, Judith and Kern, Kristine, 'The External Dimension of European Union Marine Governance: Institutional Interplay between the EU and the International Maritime Organization' (2013) 13 GEP 69.
de Vos, Jiri, Hekkenberg, Robert G. and Valdez Banda, Osiris A., 'The Impact of Autonomous Ships on Safety at Sea – A Statistical Analysis' (2021) 210 Ocean Eng. 107558.
Online encyclopedias
Osnes, Andreas, SOLAS-konvensjonen (Store Norske Leksikon, 2 October 2024) https://snl.no/SOLAS-konvensjonen accessed 3 March 2025.
Other scientific articles, papers and reports
DNV GL, Study of the risks and regulatory issues of specific cases of MASS – Part 2 (European Maritime Safety Agency 25 March 2020), available at https://emsa.europa.eu/mass/safemass.html as "SAFEMASS Part 2"
International Chamber of Shipping, Imo Conventions: Effective Implementation (International Chamber of Shipping 2014), https://www.ics-shipping.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/IMO-Conventions-Effective-Implementation-%E2%80%93-IMO-World-Maritime-Day-2014.pdf accessed 03 March 2025
Levander, Oskar, 'Autonomous ships on the high seas' IEEE Spectrum Magazine (Vol. 54, no. 2, pp. 26-31, February 2017)
Lenaerts, K and Gutiérrez-Fons, JA, To Say What the Law of the EU Is: Methods of Interpretation and the European Court of Justice (Academy of European Law, September 2013)
Lloyd’s Register and Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS). Creating a framework for efficiency, safety and compliance (Lloyd’s Register 2024), https://maritime.lr.org/mass/report?utm_source=Email&utm_medium=Newsletter&utm_campaign=mass_report_promo accessed 14 February 2025
Porathe, T, Hoem, Å, Rødseth, Ø, Fjørtoft, K and Johnsen, S, At least as safe as manned shipping? Autonomous shipping, safety and “human error” (SINTEF and NTNU 2018) https://www.sintef.no/globalassets/project/hfc/sarepta/at-least-as-safe-as-manned-shipping-porala.pdf accessed 25 February 2025
Sivori, H and Brunton, L, Out of the Box: Implementing Autonomy and Assuring Artificial Intelligence in the Maritime Industry (Lloyd’s Register 2023) https://maritime.lr.org/l/941163/2023-04-17/75wsr/941163/1682383431twVrCNID/Thetius_LR___Out_of_the_box___Autonomy_and_AI_2023.pdf accessed 14 February 2025
Siegmann, C and Anderljung, M, The Brussels Effect and Artificial Intelligence: How EU Regulation Will Impact the Global AI Market (August 2022), available in the Cornell University Archive at https://arxiv.org/abs/2208.12645
Online newspapers
Mandra, Jasmina, "Japan takes its autonomous shipping to the next level" Offshore Energy (21 July 2023) https://www.offshore-energy.biz/japan-takes-its-autonomous-shipping-to-the-next-level/ accessed 20 January 2025
Websites
Danish Shipping, EU achieves ambitious climate regulations for shipping (25 July 2023), https://danishshipping.dk/en/latest-news/2023/eu-achieves-ambitious-climate-regulations-for-shipping/, accessed 05 March 2025
Government of Norway, Ministry of Local Government and Modernisation, Forordning om kunstig intelligens (KI-forordningen), https://www.regjeringen.no/no/sub/eos-notatbasen/notatene/2021/juni/forslag-til-forordning-om-kunstig-intelligens-ki-forordningen/id2884935/, accessed 01 April 2025
Kuehne+Nagel, South Korea sets sights on fully autonomous ships by 2030 (Kuehne+Nagel 8 July 2024), https://mykn.kuehne-nagel.com/news/article/south-korea-sets-sights-on-fully-autonomous-s-08-Jul-2024, accessed 20 January 2025
Korea Autonomous Surface Ship Project, https://kassproject.org/en/main.php, accessed 20 January 2025
SINTEF, Breakthrough for autonomous ships (SINTEF 2023), https://www.sintef.no/en/latest-news/2023/breakthrough-for-autonomous-ships/, accessed 20 January 2025
Ship Technology, SHI and Kongsberg partner on autonomous LNG carrier design (Ship Technology 21 March 2023), https://www.ship-technology.com/news/shi-kongsberg-autonomous-carrier-design/?cf-view, accessed 13 February 2025
The European Commission, European AI Office, https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/ai-office, accessed 04 March 2025
The International Energy Agency, Gas imports and exports, https://www.iea.org/regions/europe/natural-gas#where-does-europe-get-its-natural-gas, accessed 20 February 2025
The International Energy Agency, Natural gas in electricity generation, https://www.iea.org/regions/europe/natural-gas#how-is-natural-gas-used-in-europe, accessed 20 February 2025
The International Maritime Organization, Autonomous shipping, https://www.imo.org/en/MediaCentre/HotTopics/Pages/Autonomous-shipping.aspx, accessed 15 January 2025
The International Maritime Organization, IMO approves net-zero regulations for global shipping (11 April 2025), https://www.imo.org/en/MediaCentre/PressBriefings/pages/IMO-approves-netzero-regulations.aspx, accessed 15 April 2025
The International Maritime Organization, Intergovernmental Organizations which have concluded agreements of cooperation with IMO, https://www.imo.org/en/OurWork/ERO/Pages/IGOsWithObserverStatus.aspx, accessed 02 March 2025
The International Maritime Organization, Member States, https://www.imo.org/en/OurWork/ERO/Pages/MemberStates.aspx, accessed 01 March 2025
The International Maritime Organization, Status of Conventions, https://www.imo.org/en/About/Conventions/Pages/StatusOfConventions.aspx, accessed 17 March 2025
Yara, Yara Birkeland, two years on (Yara April 28 2024), https://www.yara.com/knowledge-grows/yara-birkeland-two-years-on/, accessed 17 January 2025
Press releases
Council of the EU, Artificial intelligence act: Council and Parliament strike a deal on the first rules for AI in the world (2nd of February 2024), https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2023/12/09/artificial-intelligence-act-council-and-parliament-strike-a-deal-on-the-first-worldwide-rules-for-ai/, accessed 15.01.2025