A systematic literature review of factors influencing the regulation of autonomous inland shipping in Europe

Abstract The onset of autonomous inland shipping comes with regulatory challenges. First, regulations currently in place do not permit the operation of autonomous ships, mainly due to crewing requirements. Second, autonomous transport modes are deemed to be disruptive technologies that present a particular challenge to public regulators with regard to their potential for unforeseen risks and uncertainties inherent to their implementation. From a public regulator’s perspective, it is, therefore, of the utmost importance to identify and regulate the factors currently hindering the introduction of autonomous inland shipping, on the one hand, and the newly emerging issues, on the other hand, to minimise potential risk and uncertainty as much as possible. This paper presents a systematic literature review which was conducted to answer the research question: What factors influence the regulation of autonomous inland shipping? Following the outcome of the literature review, various factors could be identified, and four main categories of factors were established: technological, infrastructure, institutional and socio-economic readiness. The identified factors were subsequently discussed with regard to their significance for the regulatory agenda in light of factors found in the literature on autonomous maritime ships. The findings are of relevance for public regulators and policymakers working in the field of autonomous inland shipping. Moreover, the results presented in this paper might be also of interest for those seeking regulatory innovation regarding autonomous processes in other modes of transport.