A groundbreaking maritime logistics initiative has commenced trial operations in Shengsi, located in Zhoushan, Zhejiang Province. This marks the debut of China's first cross-domain unmanned maritime freight system, designed to establish a comprehensive intelligent shipping framework that transitions maritime transport from isolated single-point automation to a fully integrated, region-wide smart operation model.
The system operates on a "vessel-station-terminal-control" four-in-one intelligent operational network, creating a closed-loop ecosystem that revolutionizes how goods are moved across the sea. At the Shengsi Fishing Port fresh aquatic products trading center dock, the new unmanned cargo vessels have already entered routine trial service.
These unmanned cargo ships boast a compact and highly adaptable design, measuring 5.12 meters in length, 2.388 meters in width, and 2.03 meters in height, with a total weight of approximately 1.5 tons. With a draft of just 0.6 to 0.7 meters, these vessels can effortlessly navigate shallow waters, island reefs, and intertidal zones that traditional ships cannot reach, significantly expanding the operational scope of maritime logistics. Each vessel carries a dedicated cargo container of about 2 cubic meters and can operate continuously for over 8 hours per trip, effectively meeting the short-distance material transport needs between the various islands of Shengsi.
Unlike conventional single-equipment operations, this system integrates four key modules—unmanned cargo ships, intelligent buoys, unmanned docks, and a shore-based dispatch control center—into a synergistic closed-loop framework. The unmanned ships handle maritime cargo transport, while intelligent buoys provide real-time monitoring of marine conditions and navigation assistance, and unmanned docks facilitate automated loading and unloading. The shore-based control center coordinates route planning and operational management across the entire domain. This architecture overcomes the limitations of single-point maritime technology, enabling a fully unmanned process that spans cargo loading, sea transport, and final delivery.
"What we have built is not just an unmanned vessel, but a comprehensive cross-domain maritime freight system that integrates cloud, edge, and terminal computing. All full-chain tests have been successful, from dock loading and sea navigation to unloading at the destination port, without any manual intervention. This represents not a simple stacking of individual technologies, but a system-level engineering breakthrough in the maritime logistics sector," stated Li Bin, head of the unmanned vessel system technology at Boya Gongdao Marine Technology Group Co., Ltd.
Remote islands like Shengsi have long faced severe logistical challenges due to geographic constraints, including high transport costs, low operational efficiency, and significant maritime navigation risks for moving supplies in, and waste or specialty agricultural products out. This has created a persistent inter-island logistics bottleneck that hampers economic development, ecological protection, and material circulation. The deployment of this fully electric unmanned freight system precisely addresses this gap in the island smart logistics market, leveraging intelligent algorithms to dramatically optimize labor allocation, reduce operating costs, and enhance operational safety.
Industry data highlights the efficiency gains: traditional cargo vessels typically require a crew of three, whereas the unmanned vessels need just 0.2 personnel per ship, with a single dispatcher capable of simultaneously overseeing and managing 5 to 10 unmanned cargo ships. This fundamentally resolves the longstanding industry dilemma of balancing safety, efficiency, and cost in maritime logistics.
"This system overcomes the structural challenge where large ships cannot reach certain areas and small ships cannot perform efficiently. It goes beyond one-way cargo transportation to establish a bidirectional logistics loop that brings daily necessities into the islands while facilitating the outbound shipment of local specialty products and waste removal," explained Hou Qimin, head of Boya Gongdao (Zhoushan) Unmanned Vessel Co., Ltd. "This dual-directional model delivers both economic and ecological benefits, achieving cost reduction and efficiency gains in both directions."