Sustainable Autonomy under the Law of the Sea: Reconstructing Maritime Governance for the Age of Autonomous Ships
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.34625/issn.2183-2705(40.1)2026.ic-6Keywords:
Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS); sustainability; law of the sea; maritime governance; constitutional legitimacy; algorithmic accountability; intergenerational justiceAbstract
This article examines Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS) as a constitutional stress test for the contemporary law of the sea in the context of ecological transition. It argues that the convergence of technological autonomy and sustainability challenges the legitimacy of maritime governance frameworks still grounded in anthropocentric assumptions of command, control, and responsibility. Moving beyond sectoral analyses of safety or liability, the article situates MASS within a public law perspective, questioning whether international maritime law can preserve its constitutional coherence in the Anthropocene. Building on the progressive constitutionalization of sustainability in international and European Union law, sustainability is conceptualized as a structural principle conditioning legality rather than a discretionary policy objective. Through a doctrinal and teleological analysis of UNCLOS, MARPOL Annex VI, and the evolving regulatory practice of the International Maritime Organization, the article shows that environmental protection and climate responsibility increasingly operate as criteria of legitimacy. It proposes a Sustainable MASS Governance Model grounded in green regulatory integration, multilevel coordination, distributed accountability, and ethical oversight, concluding that the future legitimacy of the law of the sea depends on its capacity to integrate ecological and algorithmic rationalities into a coherent legal order oriented toward intergenerational justice.
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