NTSB Calls for National Standards for Unmanned Surface Vehicles in the U.S.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) of the United States recommended changes to the way small unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) are marked and operated, following its investigation into a 2024 collision on Lake Erie between a recreational boat and a research USV operated by NOAA. The agency called on the Coast Guard to develop a national framework of standards for detectability, collision avoidance, and navigational safety for this type of vessel.

The collision occurred on August 10, 2024, off Monroe, Michigan, when a 45-foot recreational boat struck a SeaTrac SP-48, a NOAA research USV about 15.7 feet (4.8 meters) long with very low freeboard. According to Maritime Executive, the boat was traveling at about 20 knots, while Baird Maritime reported a speed of about 25 miles per hour (40 km/h). The USV was in a station-keeping mode, referred to as 'hold' by Maritime Executive and 'adapted hold' by gCaptain, with its cameras and video recording turned off, and was being remotely piloted by an operator working from their home, according to Maritime Executive.

The boat's operator suffered minor injuries, described by Baird Maritime as a minor foot injury. The USV was declared a constructive total loss valued at approximately $186,000, while damage to the recreational boat was estimated at $100,000, figures consistent across all three sources; Baird Maritime added both amounts together, citing total losses of $286,000.

The NTSB determined that the boat was operating without AIS, radar, or electronic charts switched on, but that it nonetheless complied with current regulations for vessels of its size, and that its operator had six decades of boating experience. The agency concluded that the USV, with only one foot of freeboard and built of fiberglass, was difficult to detect visually, electronically, and audibly, and that it also lacked adequate active monitoring and a proper lookout while in station-keeping mode. Baird Maritime added that staff at NOAA's GLERL laboratory only learned of the collision when the Coast Guard called them more than half an hour after the impact.

The NTSB issued six safety recommendations related to visibility, collision avoidance, and remote monitoring of USVs. In addition to calling on the Coast Guard to set national standards, the agency urged NOAA to review its internal procedures to ensure its unmanned vessels can be detected by other mariners, including testing against the type of traffic they are likely to encounter and monitoring commensurate with each vehicle's actual level of autonomy. It also asked manufacturer SeaTrac Systems to modify the SP-48's design to improve its visibility and detectability.