{"id":25371,"date":"2026-02-24T19:02:23","date_gmt":"2026-02-24T19:02:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/krogragg.com\/?p=25371"},"modified":"2026-02-24T19:02:23","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T19:02:23","slug":"china-achieves-historic-autonomous-docking-with-smart-container-ship-zhi-fei-at-qingdao-port","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/krogragg.com\/?p=25371","title":{"rendered":"China Achieves Historic Autonomous Docking With Smart Container Ship \u2018Zhi Fei\u2019 At Qingdao Port"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>    China Achieves Historic Autonomous Docking With Smart Container Ship \u2018Zhi Fei\u2019 At Qingdao Port<br \/>\n \t<BR><br \/>\n<BR><\/BR><br \/>\n    <!-- no image --><br \/>\n \t<BR><br \/>\n<BR><\/BR><\/p>\n<div>\n<img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.marineinsight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/autonomous-docking-150x150.jpg?resize=150%2C150&#038;ssl=1\" class=\"webfeedsFeaturedVisual wp-post-image\" alt=\"China Achieves Historic Autonomous Docking With Smart Container Ship \u2018Zhi Fei\u2019 At Qingdao Port\" style=\"float: left; margin-right: 5px;\" link_thumbnail=\"\" decoding=\"async\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.marineinsight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/autonomous-docking-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.marineinsight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/autonomous-docking-96x96.jpg 96w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\"><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1885259\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1885259\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1885259\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.marineinsight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/autonomous-docking.jpg?resize=1200%2C628\" alt=\"autonomous docking\" width=\"1200\" height=\"628\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.marineinsight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/autonomous-docking.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.marineinsight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/autonomous-docking-300x157.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.marineinsight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/autonomous-docking-1024x536.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.marineinsight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/autonomous-docking-768x402.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.marineinsight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/autonomous-docking-150x79.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1885259\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Screengrab from YT video posted by CGTN<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>China has completed its first full-process unmanned container ship operation, covering autonomous navigation, berthing and cargo handling at Qingdao Port in Shandong Province on February 21.<\/p>\n<p>The smart feeder vessel Zhi Fei docked, secured, and handled containers without manual intervention.<\/p>\n<p>The vessel docked at an automated terminal at Qingdao Port, where it completed a fully autonomous berthing procedure.<\/p>\n<p>After positioning alongside the berth, a vacuum-based automatic mooring system secured the vessel in less than 30 seconds.<\/p>\n<p>The system uses suction pads that attach directly to the hull, eliminating the need for traditional mooring lines and manual line handling.<\/p>\n<p>Terminal operations then began under the coordination of a domestically developed terminal operating system (A-TOS) and equipment control system (A-ECS).<\/p>\n<p>These systems directed quay cranes and automated guided vehicles with millisecond-level response times to complete loading and unloading tasks.<\/p>\n<p>The berth itself supports autonomous container handling through automated cranes and trucks.<\/p>\n<p>The vessel, named Zhi Fei (meaning \u201cintelligent navigation\u201d), is China\u2019s first smart container ship to enter commercial service.<\/p>\n<p>It is operated by Navigation Brilliance (BRINAV). The 300 TEU feeder ship measures approximately 110 meters in length and entered commercial service in April 2022.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Uyou33rMY5w?si=uQZEhNzql-WzhCKL\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><br \/>\nVideo Credits: CGTN\/You Tube<\/p>\n<p>The ship supports three operating modes:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Manual control<\/li>\n<li>Remote control from a shore station<\/li>\n<li>Fully autonomous navigation<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>It operates between Qingdao Port and Dongjiakou, covering a longest single journey distance of 89 nautical miles at speeds up to 12 knots.<\/p>\n<p>According to BRINAV, the vessel completed 353 voyages last year, transporting more than 80,800 TEU.<\/p>\n<p>Since entering service, it has traveled over 48,000 nautical miles and its onboard systems have made more than one million independent decisions.<\/p>\n<p>BRINAV reports that the ship operates with 30 percent fewer crew members compared to a conventional feeder vessel.<\/p>\n<p>The company estimates that the system reduces the risk of human error by 80 percent. Monthly operating costs are reduced by approximately $27,500.<\/p>\n<p>Jiang Haiying, chairman of Navigation Brilliance, told Chinese media that intelligent shipping is intended to make operations safer and more efficient, rather than simply replace human roles.<\/p>\n<p>Autonomous vessel technology has been under development for years in countries such as Norway and Japan, but large-scale commercial operations remain limited.<\/p>\n<p><em>Reference: CGTN<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> \t<BR><br \/>\n <BR><\/BR><br \/>\n    MI News Network<br \/>\n \t<BR><br \/>\n<BR><\/BR><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.marineinsight.com\/shipping-news\/china-achieves-historic-autonomous-docking-with-smart-container-ship-zhi-fei-at-qingdao-port\/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=china-achieves-historic-autonomous-docking-with-smart-container-ship-zhi-fei-at-qingdao-port\">Go to marine insight<\/a><br \/>\n \t<BR><br \/>\n <BR><\/BR><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>China Achieves Historic Autonomous Docking With Smart Container Ship \u2018Zhi Fei\u2019 At Qingdao Port Screengrab from YT video posted by CGTN China has completed its first full-process unmanned container ship operation, covering autonomous navigation, berthing and cargo handling at Qingdao Port in Shandong Province on February 21. The smart feeder vessel Zhi Fei docked, secured, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194,196],"tags":[197],"class_list":["post-25371","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-marine-insight","category-shipping-news","tag-marine-insight"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/krogragg.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25371"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/krogragg.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/krogragg.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/krogragg.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/krogragg.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=25371"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/krogragg.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25371\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/krogragg.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=25371"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/krogragg.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=25371"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/krogragg.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=25371"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}