The market for smart and autonomous ships – vessels propelled by highly innovative technologies such as blockchain, the internet of things, robotics, simulation and modelling, big data and business analytics – is estimated to reach US$165.61 billion by 2030. The potential benefits that smart and autonomous ships offer to international trade have captured the attention of major industry players and governments in various parts of the world. However, the widespread adoption of such vessels will necessitate the development of smart ports equipped with complementary advanced technologies, infrastructure, and processes to accommodate them safely. This need is especially critical in the context of the charterer’s contractual obligation only to send the vessel under charter to safe ports. This strict obligation will likely compel charterers to avoid sending any smart and/or autonomous ships under charter to ports that cannot safely accommodate them.

This paper will examine the law concerning the ‘safe port obligation’ of the charterer in the context of smart and autonomous ships. It will highlight that courts will likely allocate liability for any damages to smart and autonomous ships visiting ill-equipped ports to the charterer. Considering the current trends in investment to digitise ports, this paper will also argue that developing regions may struggle to digitise ports, leading charterers to avoid utilising these ports. Finally, this paper will question whether the current cyber security framework is adequate to enable charterers to determine the safety of a particular port in the context of smart and autonomous ships.