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38 Proceedings Summer 2015 www.uscg.mil/proceedings Implementation course at the Naval War College. He was the frst head of the Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) Section in the Air Warfare director- ate in OPNAV. He is on the dean's council of Environmental and Life Sci- ences at the University of Rhode Island, and is a member of the American Bureau of Shipping Special Committee on Underwater Systems and Vehi- cles, a guest member of the European Union's Safety and Regulations for Unmanned Maritime Systems working group, a member of the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International Maritime Advocacy commit- tee, chair of the AUVSI COLREGs subcommittee, and a board member of AUVSI. Endnote: 1. Remotely operated vehicles, since they are tethered pieces of shipboard equip- ment, would not be governed by the COLREGS, nor would unpowered or buoy- ancy-driven gliders and foats, although best practices might be relevant and applied. practices on unmanned maritime systems that vary widely in size, speed, and performance. About the authors: Mr. George H. Detweiler, Jr., is retired from the U.S. Coast Guard. His ser- vice included two tours afoat and a tour as commanding offcer of a LORAN station in Italy. He returned to the Coast Guard as a civilian marine trans- portation specialist. He has been a member of the U.S. delegation to the Inter- national Maritime Organization's subcommittee on navigation, communica- tions and search and rescue and a panelist at alternative energy workshops and the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International confer- ences. Rand LeBouvier, Ph.D., joined Bluefn Robotics Corporation after retiring from the service and the position of director of the Decision Making and Navigation Safety Advisory Council Actions The Coast Guard relies on the expertise of its Navigation Safety Advisory Council (NAVSAC) for issues concerning COLREGS and inland navigation rules. The NAVSAC provides recommenda- tions on matters relating to preventing maritime collision, ramming, and grounding, as well as to COLREGS and inland navigation rules, navigation regulations and equipment, routing measures, marine information, diving safety, and aids to naviga- tion systems. A brief chronology of actions to date includes: December 10, 2008: Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) briefed the NAVSAC regarding ASTM Subgroup F41.05 activities an d characteristics of unmanned surface vehicles and unmanned underwater vehicles. 1 April 18, 2011: The council continued its discussion of autono- mous unmanned vessels and implications for the Inland Naviga- tion Rules via the Federal Register Vol. 76, No. 74. In 2011: The NAVSAC ofered its frst draft resolution, "Unmanned Vehicles/ Vessels." In 2012: The Navigation Safety Advisory Council introduced a resolution that clarified AIS carriage and discussed best practices. April 2013: At the April meeting, NAVSAC recommended COLREGS discussions should continue and that more informa- tion from industry and the U.S. Navy would be welcome. December 2013: At the December meeting, the U.S. Navy, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Associa- tion for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International, and Teledyne Marine Systems briefed the NAVSAC concerning the state of the technology, current employment concepts, and adherence to safety. The council subsequently published a resolution that the U.S. Coast Guard will promulgate appropriate guidance (or best practices) with recommendations for visual and electronic identifcation requirements. June 2014: Unmanned maritime systems were not discussed in detail at the NAVSAC meeting, but it was acknowledged that there needs to be a discussion regarding the "break points" to categorize unmanned systems and to see if current navigation rules could be applied to unmanned vehicles. The NAVSAC considered that publishing a set of best practices might be seen as a favorable step, even though best practices are not enforceable by law, and there are many interpretations of what a "best practices" document might contain. February 2015: At the February 2015 meeting, the USCG circu- lated a draft best practices document. The Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) presented a brief response to the draft, with the agreement that the comments were still pending complete vetting. The presentation was an opportunity to express comments, although AUVSI still intends to submit comments formally inclusive of our reactions and responses to the meeting. After a very thorough seques- tered review of the USCG draft, the NAVSAC did not recommend any changes to the COLREGS/inland rules and did not take any position on whether UMSs are or are not vessels, and also recom- mended to the USCG that UMS that do not qualify as vessels would assume risk for operation, and that industry should equip these to minimize risk, including appropriate lighting, sounds, and electronic means to prevent collisions. Endnote: 1. Formerly known as the American Society for Testing and Materials, ASTM International is a globally recognized leader developing international voluntary consensus standards. Today, some 12,000 ASTM standards are used around the world to improve product quality, enhance safety, facilitate market access and trade, and build consumer confdence. F41 is a technical committee on unmanned maritime vehicle systems. F41.05 is a subcommittee under F41.