NTSB Calls for Better Regulation of USV Navigational Safety

Following an inquiry into a 2024 collision, the National Transportation Safety Board has recommended changes to the manner in which small unmanned vessels are marked and operated in order to ensure safety of navigation.

The casualty involved a 16-foot research USV with low freeboard, the surfboard-shaped SeaTrac SP-48. On the evening of August 10, 2024, an SP-48 operated by a NOAA research center was operating on Lake Erie at a position about five nautical miles off Monroe, Michigan. It was under remote control by a pilot based on shore, who was working from his personal residence. The USV had its navigational cameras and video recording features turned off, and it was in a "hold mode" designed to keep it in position. The area of operation off Monroe is a transit route for larger recreational boats and sees regular traffic.

At about 1912 hours, a 45-foot recreational boat approached at about 20 knots and hit the USV, causing the boat to heel to one side and throwing the operator to the deck. Underneath the hull, the USV disintegrated from the force of the impact, and it caught up in and fouled one of the boat's propellers. The operator pulled back the throttles to all stop. Luckily the hull was intact and there was no flooding, and the boat was towed to a nearby Coast Guard station in Toledo for inspection.

The boat operator sustained minor injuries, the boat itself suffered about $100,000 in damage and the SP-48 was a total loss at a cost of about $186,000.

This story was originally published by The Maritime Executive. Read the full story at The Maritime Executive →