NTSB seeks USV safety rules after Lake Erie collision

Marcus Bennett

A 15.7-foot National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) uncrewed research vessel and a privately owned 45-foot Prestige 450 Flybridge recreational boat suffered an estimated $286,000 in combined damage when they collided on Lake Erie about six miles east-southeast of Monroe, Michigan, on Aug. 10, 2024, according to NTSB findings released Tuesday.

The National Transportation Safety Board issued six safety recommendations to the Coast Guard, NOAA and vessel manufacturer SeaTrac Systems Inc., targeting visibility, collision avoidance and remote monitoring after investigators found the NOAA SeaTrac SP-48 difficult to detect and without an effective lookout.

What happened in the Aug. 10 collision?

NOAA’s Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory was operating the vessel in “adapted hold” mode. The system automatically returned the uncrewed vessel to preset waypoints whenever it drifted beyond a 150-foot radius.

A shore-based remote pilot monitored the vessel, but NTSB characterized that monitoring as passive and insufficient for the operating conditions. The SP-48 also lacked the autonomy to assess nearby traffic independently or take collision-avoidance action.

The 15.7-foot vessel became entangled in the recreational boat’s starboard propeller pod, leaving both craft stuck together. Responders towed both vessels to a nearby marina and later separated them.

One person sustained a minor injury. NTSB declared the NOAA vessel a constructive total loss valued at approximately $186,000 and estimated damage to the recreational boat at $100,000.

Could the SP-48 have avoided the collision?

Only about one foot of the uncrewed vessel’s hull showed above the water. Investigators determined that the SP-48 was unlikely to be detected by the radar or automatic identification systems typically used aboard recreational vessels in the area, and it lacked an audible means of warning approaching traffic.

The NTSB said: “The USV could not calculate decisions regarding navigation or operational action and thus could not take appropriate action to avoid a collision.”

Investigators concluded that poor visibility and inadequate monitoring left the uncrewed vessel without a proper lookout. The report also says the case raises broader questions about how remotely operated vessels should comply with established navigation-safety requirements alongside conventional craft in busy waterways.

What changed for shippers, carriers and forwarders?

The findings identify $286,000 in property damage and one minor injury, but no cargo loss, freight-rate move, capacity reduction or service disruption. The SP-48 supported NOAA research rather than commercial transport, so the evidence does not support a cargo-market conclusion.

For shippers, carriers and freight forwarders, the immediate effect appears limited: the findings contain no TEU, tonnage, $/FEU, capacity percentage, port throughput or routing data. The nearer commercial exposure lies with organizations deploying uncrewed craft for oceanographic research, hydrographic surveying and environmental monitoring.

NOAA’s three recommendations could require revised internal procedures, detection testing against expected traffic, and remote monitoring matched to each vessel’s autonomy, environment and operating mode. SeaTrac faces a separate design request to improve the SP-48’s visibility and detectability.

Those changes may add equipment, testing and operating costs, but NTSB provides no cost estimate, procurement timetable or forecast effect on service availability. The findings also omit any quantified contract, insurance or freight-rate consequence, leaving the business case for redesign unproven.

What rules could change for uncrewed vessels?

At the time of the collision, U.S. inland and territorial waters had no industry-wide standards specifically addressing the perceptibility, collision-avoidance capability and navigational safety of uncrewed surface vessels.

NTSB asked the Coast Guard to develop a national framework covering those areas and incorporate the standards into federal regulations. In its report, the NTSB said: “As USVs become more commonplace in U.S. waterways, it is critical for the Coast Guard to begin to set standards and policies for these vessels.”

The NTSB says it issued six recommendations, but the released summary does not provide a clean allocation:

• Coast Guard: Develop a national framework for USV perceptibility, collision avoidance and navigational safety, then incorporate the standards into federal regulations.
• NOAA: Revise internal operating procedures so mariners can detect uncrewed vessels, test them against likely traffic, and require remote monitoring suited to each vessel’s autonomy, operating environment and mode.
• SeaTrac Systems Inc.: Modify the SP-48’s design to improve visibility and detectability.

The findings explicitly count one Coast Guard recommendation and three NOAA recommendations. They describe SeaTrac’s direction without stating its recommendation count, leaving the total of six incomplete on the face of the summary.

None of the recommendations creates enforceable duties by itself, and the findings disclose no Coast Guard response, proposed rule or compliance date. They nevertheless add pressure as operators use more uncrewed vessels for research, hydrographic surveying, environmental monitoring and other work in U.S. waters.

The next policy test is whether the Coast Guard converts the proposed framework into enforceable rules; until then, the demonstrated operating gap remains roughly one foot of visible hull, no audible warning and no autonomous traffic assessment.