Recently, on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the establishment of China Maritime Day, People's Daily published a signed article by Li Shixin, Executive Vice President of the China Institute of Navigation, titled "China's Maritime Technology Sailing Toward the Deep Blue." The reprinted article is as follows:
On July 1st, General Secretary Xi Jinping presided over the sixth meeting of the Central Committee for Financial and Economic Affairs, emphasizing the need to "promote high-quality development of the marine economy." The meeting pointed out that "it is essential to enhance independent innovation capabilities in marine science and technology, strengthen strategic scientific and technological forces for the marine sector, and foster leading marine technology enterprises as well as specialized, refined, and innovative small and medium-sized enterprises."
Currently, China's marine economy continues to grow in scale, with its international maritime transport volume accounting for nearly one-third of the global total. Significant breakthroughs have been made in maritime technology, including the construction of specialized vessels, automated terminals, intelligent shipping, and deep-sea exploration, supporting tremendous strides in China's maritime industry. Let us delve into the practical applications of maritime technology and experience the technological momentum propelling us forward through the waves.
Large-scale Cruise Ships: Key Instruments for a Maritime Power
Advanced maritime technology serves as a crucial hallmark of a strong shipping nation. In recent years, China has achieved systematic leaps in maritime technological innovation, spanning from theoretical model innovation and the development of maritime equipment to infrastructure construction. The results have extended across various fields, including ship design, propulsion systems, port management, navigation and communication, and safety assurance.
Looking back at the history of navigation, innovation has consistently been a driving force. From the late Neolithic era, when "logs were hollowed out to make boats and wood was shaped into oars," to the Ming Dynasty, when Zheng He utilized "celestial navigation" for transoceanic voyages, and the continuous enhancement of oceanic meteorological navigation capabilities... Technological innovation, spurred by maritime demands, has achieved breakthroughs in multiple areas, providing robust support for the high-quality development of China's maritime industry through new forms of shipping productivity.
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Large-scale cruise ships are hailed as the "crown jewel" of the shipbuilding industry, with their construction representing a highly systematic and integrated mega-engineering project that directly tests a nation's comprehensive technological prowess and manufacturing capabilities. In the past, the construction of large-scale cruise ships was almost exclusively dominated by foreign shipbuilders, until the birth of China's first domestically built large-scale cruise ship, the "Adora Magic City," which changed this landscape.
What makes this "jewel" so elusive? Taking one key technology as an example, weight and center-of-gravity control stands out as a critical and difficult aspect in the design and construction of large-scale cruise ships, directly impacting the vessel's safety, comfort, and stability during navigation. To address this, the research and development team independently established China's first 5G-enabled intelligent thin-plate production line for cruise ships, employing laser cutting and robotic welding techniques to successfully overcome technical challenges such as thin-plate cutting and welding deformation, ensuring that weight and center-of-gravity data remain within controllable ranges.
This represents just one facet of the technological breakthroughs achieved in cruise ship construction. The "Adora Magic City" alone involved over 150,000 pages of design drawings and construction documents provided by foreign parties, weighing nearly 2.1 tons. Through a combination of technology transfer, assimilation, and independent innovation, the project team embarked on an eight-year scientific research endeavor followed by five years of design and construction, ultimately achieving a breakthrough in China's domestically built large-scale cruise ship industry. As of March 10th this year, the "Adora Magic City" has completed 100 commercial voyages. The scientific research experience and innovative technologies accumulated during its construction have been applied to the construction of the second domestically built large-scale cruise ship. Currently, the second vessel has completed its floating-out in the dock and is scheduled for delivery next year. Compared to the "Adora Magic City," this new large-scale cruise ship boasts a larger gross tonnage and greater length.
China has achieved a major breakthrough in large cruise ship construction, securing its position at the forefront of maritime innovation with these "national heavyweights." However, the industry remains in its early developmental stage, with low localization rates and lingering gaps in core technologies and critical equipment R&D compared to advanced economies. Looking ahead, the global cruise shipbuilding sector is set to embrace green and intelligent transformation, with the application of autonomous navigation technology in cruise ships on the horizon.
Smart Navigation, Autonomous Shipping
In the digital age, a vision of smart shipping for the future is gradually unfolding across vast rivers and seas.
At sea, China's first intelligent navigation container ship, the "Zhi Fei," integrates assisted driving and autonomous sailing capabilities, enabling it to stably complete transportation tasks. In ports, remotely controlled quay cranes automate loading and unloading, while unmanned container trucks shuttle back and forth, significantly enhancing operational efficiency and reducing labor costs. On waterways, new-generation ship-bridge collision avoidance devices and intelligent prevention and control systems are in operation, markedly reducing the risk of collisions between vessels and bridges...
With the deep integration of next-generation information technologies such as artificial intelligence and big data with the shipping industry, smart shipping scenarios have found applications in various areas, including maritime safety and emergency management, oceanic meteorological navigation, ship design and manufacturing, passenger and cargo transportation, and remote ship monitoring and management. Overall, China's intelligent shipping sector is rapidly transitioning from isolated innovations to systematic integration, continuously expanding and evolving towards greater perfection.
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How can we achieve precise navigation without getting lost on the vast expanse of the ocean? This relies on ship intelligent navigation and control technologies, which are not only core technologies for the development of intelligent shipping but also a focal point of competition in today's international maritime technology landscape.
During the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, the project team for the national key R&D program "Key Technologies for Ship Intelligent Navigation and Control Based on Ship-Shore Collaboration" achieved breakthroughs in a complete set of technologies and "overtook competitors by taking a shortcut" through multiple research efforts.
This represents an integrated technology that combines both software and hardware. At the foundational level, a testing and evaluation system for ship intelligent navigation technologies was established. In terms of software, a comprehensive intelligent navigation system was developed, integrating advanced driver assistance, remote-controlled driving, autonomous navigation, and automatic berthing and unberthing capabilities. Regarding hardware, the intelligent navigation container ship "Zhi Fei" was independently designed and constructed.
The intelligent navigation perception accuracy of this technology suite reaches 99.2%, with project achievements reaching international leading levels. It has enabled China to keep pace with leading nations in the design, construction, and commercial operation of intelligent navigation ocean-going vessels. Currently, the project's outcomes have been applied to 22 ships operated by entities such as Shandong Port Shipping Group and Shandong Maritime Safety Administration.
As a new round of global technological revolution and industrial transformation accelerates, intelligence has become the core direction for the transformation of the shipping industry. In the future, the shipping industry will move towards "hyper-automation" and "smartization." With the faster deployment of 5G-A and 6G networks, intelligent shipping will achieve more efficient and stable communication connections. The development of intelligent ships will become a focal point of competition in the global shipbuilding industry.
Zero-Carbon Terminals and Self-Sufficiency in Green Power
Green shipping is placing ever-higher demands on maritime-technology development, requiring continuous innovation and transformation in energy structure transition, new energy ship technologies, and green infrastructure upgrades.
In terms of green ship technologies, we should prioritize the development of alternative-fuel ship technologies using LNG (liquefied natural gas), methanol, and ammonia; in the field of ship energy-efficiency technologies, we should focus on advanced ship energy-efficiency optimization technologies; in the aspect of Carbon-capture and storage technologies, we should establish a comprehensive onboard carbon-capture and storage technology system to support the low-carbon transition of the shipping industry; and in terms of green port technologies, we should advance green port construction technologies with the goal that, by 2030, all major ports nationwide should have achieved fundamental greenization.
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What is a zero-carbon terminal? Its energy system is designed as “self-generation for own use, surplus fed into the grid.” All equipment is electrically driven, and its energy consumption is supplied by green sources, achieving zero CO2 emissions on both the generation and consumption sides.
Faced with high throughput and intensive cargo-handling operations, ports are among the largest single-site electricity consumers. How, then, can a terminal achieve zero-carbon emission?
In December 2021, the world’s first intelligent green-energy system for a zero-carbon terminal was synchronized to the grid at Tianjin Port. The C-Section Intelligent Container Terminal located in the Beijiang Port Area of the Tianjin Port became the world’s first zero-carbon terminal to operate with 100 % electric power generated from renewable sources such as wind and PV, and 100% of its renewable electricity is self-produced and self-sufficient.
Compared with traditional terminals that rely on fossil energy, Tianjin Port’s container operations are entirely electrified—all handling equipment, horizontal-transport equipment, and auxiliary machinery are all powered by electricity. Powered by multiple wind turbines and the port sector’s largest single-site PV installation, the terminal’s entire energy demand is met by a proprietary “Wind—PV—Storage—Load Integration” system, enabling zero-carbon emission throughout all cargo-handling activities. Moreover, an advanced energy-monitoring technology continuously collects and analyses real-time data on all energy streams, guaranteeing 100 % green electricity self-sufficiency. Shore-power facilities now cover every container and dry-bulk berth in the port area.
Qingdao Port in Shandong Province has built China's first fully certified port hydrogen refueling station, introducing hydrogen energy into the operational scenarios of automated terminals and deploying the country's first hydrogen-electric tugboat. Shanghai international port (Group) Co., Ltd has essentially completed the conversion of its cargo-handling equipment from diesel to electricity or LNG. A growing cluster of near-zero-carbon ports is taking shape. In the near future, ports will possess higher energy-sufficient capability and achieve energy self-circulation.
(Source: People’s Daily, compiled from reports by journalist Han Xin)
