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Regulation · Safety standard

COLREGs Application to Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships

The International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREGs), adopted by IMO in 1972, apply to all vessels on the high seas. The MASS Code incorporates COLREGs by reference, but gaps remain regarding the meaning of master, crew, and watchkeeping for autonomous vessels. IMO identified COLREGs as a high-priority instrument requiring amendment for MASS compliance.

Jurisdiction: Global · Effective 1972-10-20

Machine-readable surfaces

Sources (1)

  1. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13437-022-00269-z

Status history

  • In effect · 1972-10-20 · agent-recon

    Initial ingestion

Common questions

What does COLREGs Application to Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships cover?
The International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREGs), adopted by IMO in 1972, apply to all vessels on the high seas. The MASS Code incorporates COLREGs by reference, but gaps remain regarding the meaning of master, crew, and watchkeeping for autonomous vessels. IMO identified COLREGs as a high-priority instrument requiring amendment for MASS compliance.
Where does COLREGs Application to Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships apply?
COLREGs Application to Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships is recorded as a safety_standard applying in Global on the DEPLOY registry.
When did COLREGs Application to Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships take effect?
COLREGs Application to Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships is recorded as effective October 20, 1972 on the DEPLOY registry.
Is COLREGs Application to Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships still in effect?
COLREGs Application to Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships is currently in effect and applies to covered operators in the named jurisdiction.
What types of robots does COLREGs Application to Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships apply to?
COLREGs Application to Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships is recorded as applying to maritime on the DEPLOY registry.
Which robot models on the DEPLOY registry fall under COLREGs Application to Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships?
8 robot models on the DEPLOY registry match the form-factor scope of COLREGs Application to Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships: BlackSea Comet USV, Cangqiong CEORION, Guardian AUV, Kraken USV platform and 4 others. Form-factor scope match does not by itself establish compliance status; review the underlying primary sources for each operator.
Methodology: Unreviewed · 1 source (no primary) · last reviewed 2026-08-09

Verification posture

Unreviewed

Low confidence

Review state

Stable

Last reviewed 2026-08-09

Architectural position

Cohort: maritime

Sources by quality tier

1
unclassified
Unclassified source

The framework is documented at /methodology. Corrections at /corrections. Reviewer: DEPLOY editorial team.

Methodology surface for COLREGs Application to Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships.

Canonical ID 9c6733f9-1fbe-4ff3-a83a-bb5f191915a7