Study on Vicarious Liability of Unmanned Ship CarriageWith a Discussion of the Revision of China Maritime Code

The advent of the era of unmanned ships means that the application of the Carriage of Goods by Sea Law will face new challenges. With the help of the theory of vicarious liability, the employed remote controller is regarded as the personnel of the shipowner, and its status and responsibilities are the same as the servant under the international conventions on the carriage of goods by sea and Chapter IV of China Maritime Code. The carrier shall bear the vicarious liability as an employer. The independent remote controller is regarded as an independent contractor, and the independent contractor should be included in the carrier's liability system in the revision of China Maritime Code, so that the independent remote controller can enjoy the carrier's defense and limitation. The product liability caused by defects of AI navigation system in the autonomous unmanned ship should be assumed by its producer or seller, but not by the carrier. The legal personification of autonomous unmanned ships is not an unrealistic fantasy, and the theory of vicarious liability will provide theoretical support for this process.