The Logbook That Cannot Be Rewritten: Autonomous Vessels and the Discipline of the Signed Record

▤ Summary

This article argues that autonomous vessels need tamper-evident, signed audit records just as much as crewed ships once needed handwritten logbooks. It explains why standard voyage data recorders do not provide enough integrity, accountability, or chain-of-custody protection for software-driven decisions. The piece proposes a hash-chained, offline-verifiable record signed before execution and anchored to an external ledger for long-term trust. It also highlights post-quantum cryptography, regulatory pressure, and liability risk as reasons maritime operators should adopt stronger audit controls.

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