This paper aims to demonstrate how the current framework of legislation for shipping does not unduly prevent the development of smart solutions, indeed in many areas it encourages such solutions to improve the safety of shipping and reduce environmental pollution, with the consequent improvement in financial viability. It concentrates on the higher level regulations from the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and International Labour Organization (ILO) and mainly focuses on the various exemption and equivalence provisions which add the necessary flexibility to develop new solutions to what are seen by many as being very prescriptive regulations. This in turn leads to the updating of the regulations as such solutions come into widespread use. These provisions do vary somewhat between the various conventions and the paper also highlights this.
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