NTSB Calls for New Rules for Uncrewed Vessels After Lake Erie Collision

Investigation finds NOAA research vessel was difficult to detect and lacked proper monitoring, exposing gaps in U.S. maritime safety regulations.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is calling on the U.S. Coast Guard to establish national safety standards for uncrewed surface vessels after an investigation found that a NOAA research vessel was difficult to detect and lacked adequate monitoring when it collided with a recreational boat on Lake Erie.

In findings released Tuesday, the NTSB issued six safety recommendations addressing vessel visibility, collision avoidance, and remote monitoring, highlighting regulatory gaps as uncrewed and autonomous vessels become increasingly common in U.S. waters.

The investigation stems from an August 10, 2024, collision between a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) SeaTrac SP-48 uncrewed surface vessel and a privately owned 45-foot Prestige 450 Flybridge recreational boat approximately six miles east-southeast of Monroe, Michigan.

The 15.7-foot research vessel became entangled in the recreational boat’s starboard propeller pod, leaving the two vessels stuck together. Both were towed to a nearby marina and later separated.

One minor injury was reported. The NOAA vessel was declared a constructive total loss, valued at approximately $186,000, while damage to the recreational boat was estimated at $100,000.

According to the NTSB investigation report, the uncrewed vessel’s low-profile design made it particularly difficult for other mariners to see. Only about one foot of its hull was visible above the water, and investigators determined it was unlikely to be detected by the radar or automatic identification systems typically used aboard recreational vessels in the area.

The vessel also lacked an audible means of warning approaching traffic.

But visibility was only part of the problem.

At the time of the collision, NOAA’s Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory was operating the vessel in an automated station-keeping configuration known as “adapted hold” mode. The system allowed the vessel to return automatically to preset waypoints whenever it drifted beyond a 150-foot radius.

A remote pilot monitored the vessel from shore, but the NTSB found that the monitoring was passive and insufficient for the operating conditions.

Critically, the vessel lacked the autonomy needed to independently assess nearby traffic and take collision-avoidance action.

Investigators concluded that the combination of poor visibility and inadequate monitoring effectively left the vessel without a proper lookout.

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

The findings raise broader questions about how remotely operated vessels should comply with established navigation safety requirements, particularly when operating alongside conventional vessels in busy waterways.

Coast Guard Urged to Establish National Standards

The investigation found that, at the time of the collision, there were no industry-wide standards specifically addressing the perceptibility, collision-avoidance capabilities, and navigational safety of uncrewed surface vessels operating in U.S. inland and territorial waters.

The NTSB is now recommending that the Coast Guard develop a national framework covering those areas and incorporate the standards into federal regulations.

“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 report said.

The agency also issued three recommendations to NOAA, calling for revisions to its internal operating procedures to ensure its uncrewed vessels can be adequately detected by other mariners.

Those changes would include testing vessels against the types of traffic they are likely to encounter and requiring remote monitoring appropriate to each vessel’s actual level of autonomy, operating environment, and mode of operation.

Manufacturer SeaTrac Systems Inc. was separately urged to modify the SP-48’s design to improve its visibility and detectability.

The recommendations come as the maritime industry increasingly adopts uncrewed vessels for oceanographic research, hydrographic surveying, environmental monitoring, and other operations.

The NTSB’s recommendations do not themselves establish new regulations, but they put additional pressure on the Coast Guard to address those questions as uncrewed vessel operations expand.