The unmanned ship sets sail - is South Africa prepared to open The Ship Register?

The dissertation discusses unmanned shipping from a South African perspective. While some nations are trailblazers in this field, other states lack behind and do not yet provide with a clear strategy for the future. Hence, the threat is real that they might be too late and will lose out in the competition to attract ship building, technology development, job creation and a whole new branch of industry. As a shipping nation in a strategically high important geographic area, South Africa's perspective is highlighted and it is examined whether the time has already come to open the ship register for unmanned vessels. Therefore, after a summary regarding the state of affairs, it is evaluated what the most severe dangers of unmanned shipping are from the perspective of compliance with safety regulations. Subsequently, a cost-benefit-analysis follows that seeks to anticipate the decision of the registrar burdened with the question of whether to allow an unmanned vessel of a certain level of autonomy on the South African register. Although it is found that the benefits in prospect are tremendous, it is also concluded that at this point in time great dangers and uncertainties are to expect and that possible solutions to those are still in their infancy. Thus, it is to conclude that the question whether South Africa should open its register for unmanned vessels must be yes ultimately, but not now