China launches autonomous container ship

Zhi Fei made its maiden voyage from Qingdao Port, Shandong Province on 22 April. The 8,000-dwt vessel has a 300-TEU capacity and was described as a ‘demonstration ship’, developed through a broad collaboration of Chinese institutions. It will provide significant knowledge for the future development of the technology.

The 117-m long ship can sail at speeds of 12 knots, and has a cruising range of 4,500 nautical miles. The ship integrates the intelligent navigation system jointly developed by Smart Navigation, CSSC 704 Institute, Water Transportation Research Institute, Dalian Maritime University and other institutions and three modes: manual driving, remote control and autonomous navigation.

Bestway led the vessel design, working with Shanghai Jiahao Ship and Ocean Engineering Design and Research Institute (under Tianhai Defense) and Dalian Maritime University. Qingdao Shipyard built the vessel.

Bestway said the ship adopts a full rotation electric-propulsion system based on hybrid technology, and integrates large-capacity power battery packs and generator sets through DC networking to achieve intelligent energy efficiency optimisation under multiple operating conditions. It includes multi-party intelligent co-ordination such as basic production, navigation scheduling, maritime supervision and ship support.

Zhi Fei was launched last April, commenced sea trials in June and completed technical evaluations in March 2022. It will operate between Qingdao Port in Shandong Province and Dongjiakou, managed by Chinese firm Navigation Brilliance.