Maritime autonomous surface ships, or MASS, are the marine equivalent of self-driving cars or drones and play a crucial role in Canada’s strategic future.
In recognition of this, MASS was identified as 1 of the 5 themes in the Government of Canada’s Blue Economy Targeted Regulatory Review and as 1 of 2 focus areas in round 3 of the regulatory reviews, launched in 2022 to identify regulatory barriers to economic growth and innovation in the blue economy. The review resulted in the release in June 2024 of a blue economy regulatory roadmap—or in this case, a “navigational chart.” This roadmap outlines 13 initiatives, grouped into 5 themes, to support and accelerate innovation across the blue economy. Three of the initiatives in the roadmap will serve to advance MASS technology, to the benefit of Canada’s economy, security and innovation ecosystem.
Dr. Ayda Ali Elhage, a research council officer at the National Research Council of Canada (NRC), states, “You can use MASS for research and development or for applications like ocean mapping and hydrographic surveys, but you can also use it for defence.” She explains that MASS allows 24-hour surveillance of coastal areas, including the relatively inaccessible Arctic, and that small MASS function as sea-going drones.
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