Autonomous ships – do we need a MASS master?

In the shipping world, the master has traditionally occupied a central role, whose authority onboard was only second to that of God (hence the expression “master under God”). In recent times, technological developments, and particularly the development of communication technology, have already resulted in a reduction of the master’s authority and a corresponding increase of the role of the ship owner. The advent of remotely operated and (in the future) fully autonomous ships puts even further pressure on the position of the master. It will, of course, always be possible to appoint a person as the master of a MASS, but what is this supposed to achieve? There are indeed legal issues regarding MASS, but is appointing someone master of a MASS necessary or the best possible solution these issues? Ultimately, the question must be asked whether we really need a MASS master or whether there are other (better) solutions.