On 22 May 2026, in London, the IMO’s Maritime Safety Committee closed its 111th session (MSC 111, held from 13 to 22 May) with a decision that will mark an era: the adoption of the first international code dedicated to Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships — the MASS Code. The instrument is non-mandatory and takes effect on 1 July 2026. For now it applies to cargo ships only — no yacht falls directly within its scope. The substance lies elsewhere: autonomy now has a global regulatory framework, a method and a timetable. And that timetable leads to a mandatory code, expected around 2030 and entering into force no earlier than 1 January 2032.
A goal-based code, a master still in command
The MASS Code prescribes no technical solutions: it sets goals, functional requirements and expected performance — the goal-based approach the IMO reserves for fields where technology moves faster than regulation. Each autonomous or remotely operated function — lookout, conning, anchoring — can be assessed individually, on the strength of a risk assessment submitted to the flag administration for approval.
Two safeguards frame the text. First, a human master remains responsible for the ship; the master may not be on board, but must retain the ability to intervene at any time. Second, the Remote Operation Centre (ROC) from which a remotely controlled ship is conducted must be certified by the flag State — a remarkable extension of the regulatory perimeter, which for the first time takes the bridge off the ship itself.
An experience-building phase, then a mandatory code
The IMO has chosen a staged ramp-up. The voluntary version adopted at MSC 111 opens an Experience-Building Phase: administrations and volunteer operators will accumulate operational feedback to inform the drafting of the binding version. Its adoption is targeted around July 2030, for entry into force no earlier than 1 January 2032 — a schedule the IMO may still adjust.
The same session delivered other decisions that sketch tomorrow’s bridge. The VHF Data Exchange System (VDES), adopted as an alternative to AIS through amendments to SOLAS chapters IV and V, will enter into force on 1 January 2028: it offers richer data exchange and, above all, authentication mechanisms that answer the spoofing of AIS signals. MSC 111 also approved interim guidelines for ships burning hydrogen or ammonia as fuel, crew training included.
What yachting should read into it
No new obligation lands on yachts on 1 July 2026. But three undercurrents deserve the attention of owners and managers.
The first is technological. The pairing of “autonomous functions + remote operation centre” describes an architecture yachting already knows in fragments: remote engine monitoring by manufacturers, shipyard remote assistance, assisted-navigation tenders. The MASS Code gives these building blocks a regulatory horizon — and yards designing a yacht for delivery in 2030 are already drawing compatible bridges.
The second touches the crew. A “master” responsible for a ship they never board, ROC operators certified by the flag: these hybrid profiles, between STCW certificates and systems skills, will eventually reshape training pipelines — including those yachts recruit from.
The third is immediate: VDES. Every yacht of 300 GT and over on international voyages carries AIS under SOLAS regulation V/19. From 2028 the VDES alternative will exist; bridge refits and new-build specifications will be well advised to take it into account, if only for signal robustness.
Perspective
The MASS Code will not anchor a crewless superyacht off Pampelonne tomorrow — nor is that its purpose. What MSC 111 has established is that autonomy will not be a grey area: it will have a framework, clear responsibilities and an identifiable master, on board or ashore. For a ship manager the course of action is sober: follow the experience-building phase, quiz yards on VDES compatibility for new bridges, and read the progress of autonomy not as a threat to crew, but as a shift — already under way — of certain competencies ashore.