Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of their ability to combat piracy once fully automated ships have been brought into service, and of how fully automated ships and their cargo can be protected from illegal boarding in the absence of a crew.

The Royal Navy (RN) is developing its plans to bring minimally crewed and uncrewed boats and ships into service. The reduction and removal of crew from boats and ships may bring new challenges, including dealing with illegal boarding.

Identification of all of these challenges, and solutions to overcome these are ongoing. These will be in place before the RN deploys minimally crewed and uncrewed boats and ships into service.