Recently, Ministry of Transport officially approved the preliminary design of the "Intelligent Research and Training Ship” construction project by Dalian Maritime University (DMU). The design displacement of the ship is 1,420 tons, with full electric podded propulsion, and the design navigation area is unlimited. The ship is equipped with advanced ship intelligence systems and intelligent training systems to meet the needs of intelligent ship research and teaching and training. The estimate of the project is 127.43 million yuan.
In July, 2019, DMU’s construction project proposal of the "Intelligent Research and Training Ship" project received approval by National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC). In June 2020, the feasibility research report of the construction project received approval of the NDRC. To meet the needs of smart ship research and maritime training, the ship comprehensively took seakeeping, stability, longitudinal strength and economic factors into consideration. The design ship has a length over all (LOA) 69.83 meters, a moulded breath 10.9 meters, a depth 5.0 meters, and a draft 3.5 meters. Design speed is 18.0 knots, service speed 17.5 knots, endurance 2500 nautical miles, and self-sustainability 6 days. The ship will be equipped with intelligent navigation, intelligent operation and maintenance, intelligent energy efficiency management, intelligent hull, information integration and other platforms and advanced intelligent teaching equipment. Once completed, it will have the capacity of autonomous navigation under manned and unmanned conditions, and its intelligence standard will come to the international advanced level.
It is understood that, on the one hand, the ship is used to train personnel for intelligent shipping, playing a role in students’ cognitive learning, practical training and intelligent training. It adopts advanced intelligent ship technology to make students get to know the most advanced intelligent ship equipment and system, which is served for training professionals in navigation and other maritime-related majors. On the other hand, the ship is also a research and test platform for ship intelligence, serving scientific research in the field of intelligent ships. The ship can be used to carry out intelligent navigation technology and systems, ship remote monitoring and shore-based support, ship intelligent communication technology, and ship intelligent operation and maintenance technology, etc. As an open platform for intelligent ship research, the ship will provide services to relevant scientific research institutions at home and abroad to carry out the research on intelligent ship technology, and promote the development of intelligent ship technology in China. Meanwhile, it provides important software and hardware support for the school's declaration for the unmanned ships technology and system as well as the State Key Laboratory.
As an important part of DMU's "Double First Class" construction, school leaders attach great importance to the construction of the "Intelligent Research and Training Ship", which has also won widespread concern from all walks of society and strong support from the school faculty. From the establishment of the project to the engineering feasibility study and then to the whole process of the design plan, relevant school leaders have presided over many meetings to analyze and discuss the design plan. SDARI, Shanghai Ship and Shipping Research Institute, China COSCO Shipping Group , CSSC, CCS, China Water-borne Transport Research Institute and other relevant units have offered valuable suggestions for the design of the ship.
The preliminary design of the construction project of "Intelligent Research and Training Ship" was finally closed after repeated demonstration by relevant experts from State Key Laboratory on Navigation Technology and Safety of COSCO Shipping Group, Key Laboratory of Transportation Industry, and Key Laboratory for Key Technology of Unmanned Ship System and Equipment in Transportation Industry, laying a solid foundation for the construction of the ship in the next step.