The Provisional Rules for the Technology and Inspection of Ship Autonomous Navigation Tests (hereinafter referred to as the "Provisional Rules") issued by the China Maritime Safety Administration will be officially implemented from May 1, 2023. From then on, there will be evidence for ship autonomous navigation tests and further promote the application of ship autonomous navigation technology.


In 2019, the International Maritime Organization released guidelines for sea trials of autonomous ships on the surface. In the same year, the Ministry of Transport and six other ministries jointly issued the "Guiding Opinions on the Development of Intelligent Shipping" to support the development of intelligent technology for ships such as autonomous navigation. The formulation of the Provisional Rules has led the China Maritime Safety Administration to conduct on-site research in Shanghai, Zhuhai, Qingdao, Dalian, and other places based on safety and industry development needs. It has fully considered domestic policies and the current development status of autonomous navigation related technologies, focused on ensuring the safety of ship navigation tests, supporting ships in conducting on-site technical testing, and promoting technological innovation.


It is understood that the Provisional Rules consist of 5 chapters, including general rules, inspection applications, autonomous navigation and remote control, remote control stations, test processes, etc., covering the hardware and software requirements, application procedures, and test safety requirements that ships should have for conducting autonomous navigation and remote control navigation tests. They fill the technical regulatory gap in the field of autonomous navigation of domestic ships and have important milestone significance in the development process of ship intelligence.


In recent years, autonomous navigation of ships has received widespread attention in the shipping industry, with multiple countries conducting technical tests and verifications. China has also conducted beneficial explorations in the field of autonomous navigation of ships, and domestically developed cargo ships such as "Zhuhaiyun" and "Zhifei" with autonomous navigation capabilities have been launched. The promulgation of the Provisional Rules will standardize the conduct of ship navigation tests, effectively support ships in conducting autonomous navigation and remote control navigation technology tests, further unleash the development potential of ship autonomous navigation technology and related industries, and create a good environment for promoting the development of intelligent shipping.