72ft Sail drone, not what I'd like to encounter in a middle of a storm..

[AKA-None]

[QUOTE=Pelagic;3494095]

Originally Posted by SeanPatrick

I would hope they've been designed to avoid any detected vessels.
/QUOTE]

CNET VIDEO said they were fitted with Artificial Intelligence , which I guess is an improvement over some of the COLREG deficient skippers out there

Ouch

So maybe I is the next step up from Otto

[Franziska]

Just found this, sounds like they have an AIS transceiver on board.
Still looking on the size of some of them it stays a bit scary.

https://news.usni.org/2021/08/06/sai...bmarine-hunter

[hpeer]

Fran^,

Thanks for link. Interesting.

[jmh2002]

The Saildrone Explorer SD 1045 in the hurricane video has the following dimensions and specifications:

Hull length: 23 ft (7 m)
Wing height: 15 ft (5 m)
Draft: 6 ft (2 m)
Propulsion: Wind (Saildrone wing)
Average speed: 3 knots
Endurance: 12+ months
Range: Unlimited

https://www.saildrone.com/technology/vehicles
https://assets.website-files.com/5be..._web-final.pdf

[seandepagnier]

Originally Posted by Pelagic

Not true, this vessel is not abandoned, not in any distress and is commanded autonomously

The salvage law doesn't say abandoned or distress. It simply says unmanned.

So if no one is onboard, you can legally claim it. The international laws are very old.

[Pelagic]

Originally Posted by seandepagnier

The salvage law doesn't say abandoned or distress. It simply says unmanned.



So if no one is onboard, you can legally claim it. The international laws are very old.

It is not quite as simple as you may think as International laws have always been modified over time and the reality now of autonomous ships are already being processed for updated definitions
So at present an unmanned ship is protected by IMO process of ratification and any claims would be treated as piracy.

Basic Salvage Law
Salvage claims have to first prove that the vessel boarded was in peril.

WIKI
The*law of salvage*is a principle of*maritime law*whereby any person who helps recover another person's ship or cargo in peril at sea is entitled to a reward commensurate with the value of the property salved.
Maritime law is inherently international, and although salvage laws vary from one country to another, generally there are established conditions to be met to allow a claim of salvage.[1]*The vessel must be in peril, either immediate or forthcoming; the "salvor" must be acting voluntarily and under no pre-existing contract; and the salvor must be successful in their efforts, though payment for partial success may be granted if the environment is protected.
WIKI

NO PERIL/NO RIGHTS!

UNMANNED

The IMO is now putting the issue of autonomous ships on the agenda, so the work to review the legal implications of the unmanned vessel on existing international maritime law regulatory framework is already underway.*

Firstly, is the unmanned ship, with no captain or crew on board, still a ship?*

For all kinds of liability reasons, the requirements of autonomous ships will be clearly defined and tested as these small research drones are actually being studied to provide test data.

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....act_id=3297487

[Davidasailor]

Legal or not, I could not in good conscience see a reason to take or damage someone else’s property. Particularly property gathering data for improving weather forecasts without sending people into harm’s way.

[Fore and Aft]

I wonder if you could catch capture the drone and then hang it of your davits! Imagine the looks you would get in the marina.
It would be interesting to see how easy the drone would be to capture. Thinking about it I think I might have just invented a new sport. It could be like team penning except on water. I could see a couple of beer gutted sailors in inflatables mustering a drone into a pen. Could be interesting to watch, particularly if the drone has a few inflatable popping spikes attached to it.
Cheers

[Fi2010]

There’s no need to worry about unmanned ships not seeing you during a storm. Our head of research has been deployed twice during the testing of the US Navy’s Sea Hunter. The Navy has several very large unmanned ships. The ships are well equipped.

Got a kick out of the comment saying to board the saildrone…only if you want to be arrested for piracy.