By 2030, smart shipping will reach international advanced levels, with more "smart ships" navigating intelligent ports.
From:China Industrial Economy Information Network
Automatically plan precise shipping routes, accurately identify obstacles during transit, and enable unmanned loading/unloading operations at automated terminals.Scenes once confined to science fiction are now taking root and becoming reality in China's shipping industry. Today, the new wave of technological revolution led by artificial intelligence is accelerating the transformation of shipping from a traditional labor-intensive, experience-driven sector to one that is digitalized, intelligent, and autonomous—ushering in a new era for maritime development.
Recently, the Ministry of Transport and other4Jointly issued by multiple departments: "Intelligent Shipping"2030Action Plan (hereinafter referred to as the "Action Plan"), which proposes that by2030By the end of the year, intelligent shipping development will reach an advanced international level. Chen Deli, Deputy Director of the Maritime Safety Administration under the Ministry of Transport, stated that the "Action Plan" not only serves as a guiding framework for advancing intelligent shipping but also represents a strategic deployment to drive comprehensive, deep, and systemic transformation across the shipping industry. This initiative is critical to securing China's competitive edge in global shipping and establishing new advantages in shaping the future of maritime transport.
Take control of the competition
After years of development, China's shipping industry has achieved global leadership in scale.With the world's largest shipping fleet, China has built the world's largest cluster of world-class ports. For many consecutive years, both cargo and container throughput have ranked first globally, accounting for nearly one-third of global maritime trade. The shipping industry has become a critical hub connecting China to the world and ensuring supply chain security.
"Intelligent shipping focuses on vessel autonomy, relies on digitalized infrastructure, and ensures coordinated operational control. Developing intelligent shipping enhances safety, efficiency, and sustainability in maritime transport, serving as a key application scenario for cultivating new quality productive forces," said Geng Xiongfei, Director of the Intelligent Shipping Technology Research Center at the Waterway Research Institute of the Ministry of Transport.
From a domestic perspective, China is currently accelerating the construction of a transportation powerhouse. As a key component of the comprehensive transportation system, the level of intelligence in shipping directly impacts the overall success of this initiative. "The State Council's Decision on Deeply Implementing..."Artificial Intelligence+The "Action Plan" also clearly emphasizes promoting the deep and extensive integration of artificial intelligence across all sectors of the economy and society. Developing intelligent shipping is an inevitable requirement to serve national strategic priorities and align with the trends of our times.
Globally, developing smart shipping has become a key measure for seizing the initiative in international maritime competition."Digitalization, intelligence, networking, and convenience are the overarching trends driving global maritime transformation. A paradigm shift in shipping equipment centered on vessels is gradually becoming a key disruptor of the world's maritime landscape," said Li Yanqing, Vice President and Secretary-General of the China Shipbuilding Industry Association. In recent years, the International Maritime Organization has actively advanced the Rules for Unmanned Surface Vessels (MASS CodeThe formulation of this work not only aligns with technological advancements and market expectations but also accelerates the adoption of new technologies and equipment in the shipping industry. Globally, emerging technologies, systems, and equipment are driving the evolution and innovation of ships. Artificial intelligence is rapidly empowering vessels, positioning smart ships as a key representative of next-generation maritime assets.
Experts believe that the launch and implementation of the Action Plan hold major strategic significance for accelerating smart shipping development, reducing costs and improving efficiency in transportation and logistics, enhancing China's shipping competitiveness, and ensuring supply chain resilience and security.
Unlock potential through multiple breakthroughs
last year6In China, the "Xin Hongzhuan," the world's first domestically developed smart ship integrating remote control, autonomous navigation, and training capabilities, successfully completed narrow waterway autonomous navigation and shore-based remote control tests. During nearly a year of operation prior to formal delivery, the vessel passed key tests including autonomous berthing and unberthing, open-water autonomous navigation, multi-ship intelligent collision avoidance, and shore-based remote control, achieving an international leading level of intelligence.
Autonomous shipping is a core focus of smart maritime development and a key demonstration of China's technological innovation."Our country is seeing increasingly rich results in ship technology innovation," Geng Xiongfei introduced. China has independently developed the research mother ship "Zhuhai Yun," the dual-purpose research and training vessel "Xin Hongzhuan," and the inland waterway vessel "Yu Jiao Tou."001Smart vessels with autonomous navigation capabilities, including those marked by quotation marks, have been launched, with some already in regular operation. Intelligent equipment with decision-support capabilities has been deployed on a significant scale across the three main vessel types: bulk carriers, tankers, and container ships.
China's smart port development has also made significant progress, with automation technology levels and application scale ranking among the top globally. To date, a total of60A fully automated container and dry bulk terminal, with approximately28%Geng Xiongfei stated that China's smart port development has forged an independent innovation path. China's automated terminals lead the world in loading and unloading efficiency, reliability, and intelligence levels. In the future, as ships operating at ports achieve higher levels of autonomy, China's smart ports will make greater breakthroughs in offshore operations, ship-shore collaboration, and remote control, advancing from smart ports to fully autonomous maritime ecosystems.1.0Go to Smart Port2.0a significant leap forward, further solidifying our global leadership position.
For "smart ships" to truly unlock the potential of intelligent shipping, they must dock at "intelligent ports," enabling seamless ship-shore collaboration. This year2In Qingdao Port's New Qianwan Container Terminal, Shandong, China's first coastal intelligent navigation container cargo ship, "Zhi Fei," completed the world's first fully unmanned end-to-end container operation. The vessel achieved autonomous navigation, berthing, mooring, and container loading/unloading without any human intervention throughout the entire process, marking a shift for China in the field of intelligent ships from following to competing on par with global leaders.
Elevate quality and quantity to drive transformation
The Action Plan sets two milestone targets: by2027By [year], achieve deep and extensive integration of artificial intelligence technology with shipping elements, and breakthroughs in core key technologies for smart shipping; by2030By the end of the year, achieve comprehensive mastery of core technologies in intelligent shipping, possess the capability to supply a full spectrum of equipment systems, and establish a more robust framework of policies, regulations, and standards. Intelligent shipping development will reach advanced international levels.
"The Action Plan is grounded in the present while looking to the future. It emphasizes empowering high-quality shipping development through artificial intelligence (AI) technology, while also focusing on driving AI iteration and enhancement via typical shipping scenarios," said Geng Xiongfei. The implementation of the Action Plan will drive significant quality improvements and rapid growth in China's intelligent shipping sector, accelerate the transformation and upgrading of the nation's shipping industry, and provide strong support for building a transportation powerhouse.
The "Action Plan" implemented in this release comprehensively and systematically deploys the future5The overall goals, technical pathways, infrastructure upgrades, and regulatory framework development for China's smart shipping in the past year reflect the country's systematic thinking and strategic planning in embracing digitalization and intelligence technologies. According to Li Yanqing, focusing on smart ship development and promoting synergistic collaboration among smart shipping technologies, equipment, systems and data, infrastructure, and regulatory frameworks is key to advancing the industry. Technology iteration driven by domestic needs, leveraging China's advantages in digital intelligence technologies, its comprehensive communication infrastructure, and its thrivingAIAdvancing mature technologies in well-defined scenarios supports the development of a Chinese smart shipping technology and equipment ecosystem.
"Successful deployment requires pragmatic measures to ensure execution. As Li Yanqing stated, close collaboration between the shipping and shipbuilding industries, deep integration of traditional systems with digital and intelligent enabling technologies, and interactive progress between industry practices and regulatory development are key to achieving goals and ensuring success."
The Ministry of Transport is accelerating smart shipping pilot initiatives, establishing a pilot work mechanism, and advancing the implementation of these projects."Next, we will collaborate with multiple stakeholders to establish a series of representative pilot smart shipping vessels, routes, and comprehensive zones, driving the commercial application of all smart shipping elements," said Chen Deli.