The pan-European inland shipping landscape consists of different supranational, regional and national public regulators whose regulatory instruments in the field of safety, security and technical requirements differ in scope of application and enforceability across Europe.
From a geographical scope of application, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), a specialised United Nations agency, has the most far-reaching policymaking powers for inland shipping regulation in Europe. The UNECE acts as an important supranational policymaker but cannot adopt mandatory regulatory instruments itself. Instead, the organisation issues recommendations and assists in the preparation of important pan-European legal instruments by other inland waterway regulatory bodies that are embedded with powers to adopt mandatory rules. Less far-reaching in respect of the geographical scope of application than the UNECE but still considered the predominant public regulator in European inland shipping is the European Union (EU) because of its powers to adopt binding legal instruments that are directly applicable in its Member States (in the case of regulations), or that are subject to mandatory transposition into national law (in the case of directives).
Continental Europe consists of several important transnational inland waterways which meet the conditions for an international river by running through two or more states and are navigable from the sea (United Kingdom et al. v. Poland
1929, p25). Transnational waterways naturally constitute favourable conditions for a single shared market amongst their riparian states (Tournaye
2015); consequently, river commissions were established ‘to lay down a legal framework providing a level playing field within the market created and to monitor and coordinate public infrastructure work’ (Tournaye
2015, p383). For historical and/or political reasons, some states are members of river commissions despite not being a riparian state (Verberght
2019). The most important river commissions related to the pan-European inland waterway network include the Central Commission for the Navigation of the Rhine (CCNR), the Moselle Commission, the International Sava River Basin Commission (Sava Commission) and the Danube Commission. Whereas the first three can adopt binding decisions, the latter can only issue recommendations; nevertheless, it plays an important role in coordinating the national authorities governing the use of the Danube River.
The European Committee for drawing up standards in the field of inland navigation (CESNI) holds a special function in-between these regulators; it has been set up in a cooperative effort between the EU and the CCNR, with the objective of harmonising current standards for crew and technical requirements. The standards of CESNI are not automatically binding but need to be incorporated into the respective regulatory frameworks.
Besides the aforementioned public regulators, national authorities adopt legally binding decisions in their individual states and are placed at the bottom of the regulatory pyramid in inland shipping. Nevertheless, they play an important role in managing the sector by being responsible for the regulation of every safety- and security-related aspect that has not been regulated at the supranational and transnational levels above them.
Common themes to be adapted
In its regulatory scoping exercise, the IMO included a variety of relevant instruments dealing with the safety and security aspects of maritime shipping. In the following exercise on inland shipping regulations, the same approach was adopted. Based on findings from the literature and complemented by an own web search (referred to as ‘N/A’), regulatory instruments falling within the scope of the exercise included mandatory and nonmandatory regulations adopted by the aforementioned supranational and transnational (but regional) public regulators and relating to the safety and security aspects of inland shipping. These ranged from technical requirements, including communication, to special requirements for the transport of dangerous goods, navigational policies, additional requirements in case of passenger transport, professional qualifications and working requirements, and waste management obligations. The scope of the analysis excluded regulatory instruments adopted at the national level and conventions with a focus on private law issues, such as liability and insurance. The objective was to conduct an analysis solely of regulations enacted for the safe operation of vessels in European inland waterways.
Following a top-down approach, these regulations included, at the supranational level, the European Code for Inland Waterways (CEVNI) (UNECE
2021) (as identified by Nzengu et al.
2021; Erasmus School of Law
2019) and the European Agreement concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Inland Waterways (ADN) (UNECE
2023) (referred to in Bačkalov
2020; Verberght
2019) adopted by UNECE; European Directive 2016/1629/EC on the technical requirements for inland waterway vessels (European Parliament and Council of the European Union
2016) (as identified by Erasmus School of Law
2019; Verberght
2019; Nzengu et al.
2021), European Directive 2008/68/EC on the inland transport of dangerous goods (European Parliament and Council of the European Union
2008) (referred to in Nzengu et al.
2021), European Directive 2017/2397 on the recognition of professional qualifications in inland navigation (European Parliament and Council of the European Union
2022) (repealing Directive 1996/50/EC and as identified by Nzengu et al.
2021) and European Directive 2014/112/EC on the organisation of working time in inland waterway transport (Council of the European Union
2014) (referred to in Nzengu et al.
2021) as well as European Regulation 1177/2010 on the rights of passengers in sea and inland waterway transport (European Parliament and Council of the European Union
2010) (as identified by Verberght
2019); the European Standards laying down Technical Requirements for Inland Navigation Vessels (ES-TRIN) (CESNI
2023b) (referred to in Erasmus School of Law
2019; Verberght
2019; Bačkalov
2020; Nzengu et al.
2021), for Qualifications in Inland Navigation (ES-QIN) (CESNI
2019) (as identified by Verberght
2019) and for River Information Services (ES-RIS) (CESNI
2023a); and the Convention on the Collection, Deposit and Reception of Waste Produced during Navigation on the Rhine and Inland Waterways (CDNI) (CDNI Secretariat
2023) (referred to in Nzengu et al.
2021).
At the transnational (regional) level, these included the Police Regulations for the Navigation of the Rhine (RPR) (CCNR
2023b) (as identified by Nzengu et al.
2021), Regulations for Rhine Navigation Personnel (RPN) (CCNR
2023c) (referred to in Nzengu et al.
2021; Erasmus School of Law
2019) and the Rhine Vessel Inspection Regulations (RVIR) (CCNR
2022b); the Danube Convention (DC) (Danube Convention
1948); the Police Regulation for the Navigation of the Moselle (PRNM) (Moselle Commission
2022); the Navigation Rules on the Sava River Basin (NRSRB) (Sava Commission
2013); the Sava Manual for the Radiotelephone Service in the Sava River Basin (MRSSRB) (Sava Commission
2019); and the Handbook on Radiocommunication for Inland Navigation (HRIN) (Danube Commission, Moselle Commission and CCNR
2017), which was adopted in a joint effort by the CCNR, Danube and Moselle Commissions.
The identified instruments were subsequently analysed for common potential gaps and/or themes similar to those referred to in the maritime regulatory scoping exercise related to fully autonomous, and hence uncrewed, ships but with the possibility of a remote control station for supervision purposes, corresponding to level 5 of the CCNR’s ‘International definition of levels of automation in inland navigation’ (CCNR
2022a) and equivalent to level 4 in the regulatory scoping exercise of the IMO (Table
1). For this, the identified regulations were analysed with regard to the existence of a human element, which was met by a provision either stipulating that an action is to be performed by conventional shipping personnel, such as boatmaster or crew, or requiring human handling of a specific task. The aim was not to establish a detailed list of provisions opposing the introduction of autonomous inland ships but to determine whether common potential gaps and/or themes could be identified in the respective regulatory instruments.
Table 1
Common gaps/themes to be adapted
UNECE |
| Definition, responsibilities and qualifications of ‘master’ | |
| Definitions, responsibilities and qualifications of ‘crew’, ‘qualified person’, ‘helmsman’ and ‘person responsible’; crewing requirements; certificates; communication; manual operations by the personnel on board; remote control from the onshore station; acquisition and transfer of data | N/A |
| Definition, responsibilities and qualifications of ‘master’; crewing requirements; remote control from the onshore station | |
| Definition, responsibilities and qualifications of ‘crew’; manual operations by the personnel on board; certificate; remote control from the onshore station | N/A |
EU |
Directive 2016/1629/EC (European Parliament and Council of the European Union 2016) | Certificate; remote control from the onshore station; definitions, responsibilities and qualifications of ‘inspection bodies’, ‘chairman’ and ‘experts’ | N/A |
Directive 2008/68/EC (European Parliament and Council of the European Union 2008) | Certificate | N/A |
Directive 2017/2397 (European Parliament and Council of the European Union 2022) | Definitions, responsibilities and qualifications of ‘persons involved in the operation of a craft navigating’, ‘deck crew members’, ‘passenger navigation experts’ and ‘boatmaster’; certificate; communication; crewing requirements; remote control from the onshore station; manual operations by the personnel on board | N/A |
Directive 2014/112/EC (Council of the European Union 2014) | Definition, responsibilities and qualifications of ‘boatmaster’; remote control from the onshore station | |
| Definitions, responsibilities and qualifications of ‘navigation personnel (crew members)’ and ‘shipyard personnel’ | N/A |
Regulation 1177/2010 (European Parliament and Council of the European Union 2010) | Manual operations by the personnel on board | N/A |
CESNI |
| Manual operations by the personnel on board; remote control from the onshore station; crewing requirements | |
| Acquisition and transfer of data; manual operations by the personnel on board; remote control from the onshore station; crewing requirements | |
| Crewing requirements; manual operations by the personnel on board | Erasmus School of Law ( 2019) |
| Communication; definitions, responsibilities and qualifications of ‘shipboard personnel’, ‘boatmaster’ and ‘crew’; certificate | N/A |
| Manual operations by the personnel on board; remote control from the onshore station; certificate; communication; acquisition and transfer of data | |
| Definitions, responsibilities and qualifications of ‘boatman’, ‘crew’, ‘shipboard personnel’ and ‘passenger navigation experts’ | N/A |
| Definitions, responsibilities and qualifications of ‘crew’, ‘conning (navigating) skipper’ and ‘boatmaster/shipmaster’; acquisition and transfer of data; communication; remote control from the onshore station; manual operations by the personnel on board; certificate | N/A |
CDNI |
CDNI (CDNI Secretariat 2023) | Definition, responsibilities and qualifications of ‘boatmaster’; manual operations by the personnel on board | |
| Certificate; remote control from the onshore station; communication | N/A |
River Commissions |
CCNR |
| Definition, responsibilities and qualifications of ‘master’; manual operations by the personnel on board; crewing requirements; remote control from the onshore station | |
| Definitions, responsibilities and qualifications of ‘crew’ and ‘other persons on board’; certificate; communication; acquisition and transfer of data | N/A |
| Crewing requirements; definition, responsibilities and qualifications of ‘ADN expert’ | |
| Crewing requirements | Erasmus School of Law ( 2019) |
| Certificate; definitions, responsibilities and qualifications of ‘boatmaster’, ‘(deck) crew (members)’, ‘shipboard personnel’, ‘safety personnel’ and ‘passenger navigation expert’; communication; remote control from the onshore station; manual operations by the personnel on board | N/A |
| Certificate | N/A |
Danube Commission |
DC (Danube Convention 1948) | Definition, responsibilities and qualifications of ‘pilots’ | N/A |
Moselle Commission |
PRNM (Moselle Commission 2022) | Definitions, responsibilities and qualifications of ‘boatmaster’, ‘crew’ and ‘other persons on board’; communication; acquisition and transfer of data; certificate; manual operations by the personnel on board | N/A |
Sava Commission |
NRSRB (Sava Commission 2013) | Definitions, responsibilities and qualifications of ‘boatmaster’, ‘crew’ and ‘other persons on board’; certificate; crewing requirements; remote control from the onshore station; acquisition and transfer of data; communication | N/A |
MRSSRB (Sava Commission 2019) | Manual operations by the personnel on board; communication; acquisition and transfer of data | N/A |
CCNR/Danube Commission/Moselle Commission |
HRIN (CCNR, Danube Commission Moselle Commission 2017) | Manual operations by the personnel on board; communication; acquisition and transfer of data | N/A |
Similar to the findings in the IMO regulatory analysis, the potential gaps and/or themes identified in inland shipping regulations included provisions requiring crew on board (‘crewing requirements’) and/or specific persons (e.g. master or crew personnel) to perform duties (‘definition, responsibilities and qualifications’) or provisions stipulating that (a) human(s) on board shall manually perform a task (‘manual operations by the personnel on board’). Provisions requiring actions by humans on board automatically demonstrate the absence of provisions which would otherwise allow the specific task to be performed from outside the autonomous vessel (‘remote control from the onshore station’). Furthermore, definitions, responsibilities and qualifications for remote control station personnel will need to be adopted. Provisions concerning communication either between on-board personnel in the vessel or between the vessel and the shore or with other vessels require adaptations to enable entirely digitalised communication (‘communication’). Similarly, in the case of communication of data or situational awareness ensured by the personnel on board, new provisions are needed (‘acquisition and transfer of data’). Lastly, provisions dealing with either specific certification requirements or the obligation to carry non-digitalised documents on board and to hand them over, for example, in case of inspection, raise new issues for their applicability to autonomous vessels (‘certificate’).
Potential links between instruments
Upon the identification of the potential gaps and/or themes in each instrument, the potential links across the regulatory instruments were established (Table
2). Similar to the outcome of the IMO regulatory scoping exercise, the identified gaps and/or themes are not all of the same nature. The most critical and fundamental issues are provisions in which a human element explicitly precludes autonomous operations. Consequently, before existing regulations can be adapted, new definitions, responsibilities and qualifications for the master and crew need to be elaborated and changed, as the case may be, to remote control station personnel. These may be subject to policy decisions, as they likely have far-reaching implications on how regulations will address autonomous inland shipping in the future. Other issues seem to be less critical; however, they will nevertheless play an important part in the future regulation of autonomous inland ships. Amongst these are how to handle communication and data transfer as well as the adoption of new certification procedures for compliance and inspection purposes.
Table 2
Potential links between instruments
General recommendations |
| x | x | x | x | x | x | x |
Transport of dangerous goods |
| x | x | x | x | | | x |
Directive 2008/68/EC (European Parliament and Council of the European Union 2008) | | | | | | | x |
Technical requirements |
| x | x | x | x | x | x | x |
Directive 2016/1629 (European Parliament and Council of the European Union 2016) | | x | | x | | | x |
| | | | | | | x |
Navigational policies |
| x | x | x | x | x | x | x |
DC (Danube Convention 1948) | | x | | | | | |
PRNM (Moselle Commission 2022) | | x | x | | x | x | x |
NRSRB (Sava Commission 2013) | x | x | | x | x | x | x |
Labour |
| | x | x | x | x | x | x |
Directive 2017/2397 (European Parliament and Council of the European Union 2022) | x | x | x | x | x | | x |
Directive 2014/112/EC (Council of the European Union 2014) | | x | | x | | | |
| x | x | x | x | x | | x |
Passengers |
Regulation 1177/2010 (European Parliament and Council of the European Union 2010) | | | x | | | | |
Communication |
| | x | x | x | x | x | x |
HRIN (CCNR, Danube Commission and Moselle Commission 2017) | | | x | | x | x | |
MRSSRB (Sava Commission 2019) | | | x | | x | x | |
Waste management |
CDNI (CDNI Secretariat 2023) | | x | x | x | x | | x |
Besides the need for policy decisions on the most critical issues identified, the potential links regarding common gaps and/or themes across the different regulatory instruments may serve as important bases for how future regulatory work can be achieved in a holistic, harmonised manner.
In contrast to the IMO, the adoption of a universally applicable code on autonomous inland shipping seems more than unlikely because of the very different rulemaking procedures amongst the various, multi-levelled policymakers in inland shipping. However, the rationale to address the most critical common gaps and/or themes in a single regulatory instrument presents the undeniable advantage of establishing the foundation for a universal implementation of autonomous inland ships on pan-European inland waterways. Therefore, the chance to pave the way towards a harmonised regulation in Europe could rest with one of the supranational regulators, for instance, the UNECE and/or CESNI, that could create a nonmandatory regulatory framework or set of recommendations from which other public regulators could gain inspiration for the adoption of new rules or future adaptations of their existing regulations. As for the content of the rules, the nonmandatory regulatory framework should not be too prescriptive in nature as technology is expected to continuously change over time, but rather follow the goal-based approach adopted by the IMO to set standards that are of a more fundamental nature and focus on the outcome to be achieved.