The Bohai Bay is witnessing a surge of intelligent innovation. The fourth Tianjin International Shipping Industry Expo is being held in Tianjin, where numerous products showcasing the deep integration of artificial intelligence with port and shipping industries are making a "dazzling" debut, reflecting the "rapid advancement" in building the "Northern International Shipping Core Area."
To cultivate and expand new quality productive forces in shipping, in 2026, the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, and the State Administration for Market Regulation jointly issued the "Smart Shipping 2030 Action Plan." It specifies that by 2027, China will develop more than ten replicable and scalable smart shipping application scenarios and operate over a hundred smart ships.
At the Tianjin Port terminal, unmanned electric container trucks shuttle back and forth; welding robots in shipbuilding workshops spark with activity; freight rates are instantly accessible on the multimodal transport digital service platform; and risks are monitored in real-time on maritime regulatory screens—in Tianjin, a digital and intelligent landscape where AI deeply empowers the port and shipping industry is gradually unfolding.
Intelligent Ports: Unmanned Container Trucks Achieve "Zero-Carbon Acceleration"
In the early morning at the C-section intelligent container terminal of Tianjin Port, nearly a hundred unmanned electric container trucks move precisely along predetermined routes, seamlessly coordinating with AI-powered transport robots to complete the loading, unloading, and transfer of containers. This is the daily operational scene of the world's largest fleet of unmanned electric container trucks.
"In recent years, Tianjin Port Group has boldly explored the perfect integration of traditional processes with automated operations. It was the first globally to complete the automated upgrade of the entire yard's rail-mounted gantry cranes at a single container terminal and achieved the large-scale operation of the world's largest fleet of unmanned electric container trucks," explained Song Xiaotong, Deputy Manager of Business Management at Tianjin Jingang Industrial Development Co., Ltd. "We creatively proposed the forward-looking concept of a 'Smart Zero-Carbon' terminal, realizing a deep integration of 'intelligence' and 'green' across all domains."
The integration of artificial intelligence is profoundly changing the operational methods of ports. Song Xiaotong told reporters that currently, loading and unloading operations at Tianjin Port are transitioning towards automation, and logistics services are shifting to an "online" model. "In port management, we have also developed an independently controllable Jtos system, achieving the full implementation of intelligent applications across the entire process. It can be said that the integration of AI has significantly enhanced the operational efficiency of the port."
In 2025, Tianjin Port achieved a cargo throughput of 595 million tons and 24.03 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units), ranking among the top ten ports globally. Driven by the "dual engines" of unmanned driving and automation, this century-old port is being revitalized through digital and intelligent transformation.
Smart Ships: Welding Robots Achieve "Shared Learning Outcomes"
Entering the production workshop of CSSC Tianjin Shipbuilding Co., Ltd., flexible welding robots are operating precisely along the intermediate assembly production line. Amidst the flickering welding sparks, uniform weld seams are formed. More notably, these robots possess "self-learning" capabilities—skills mastered by one robot can be instantly shared with all its "colleagues."
"For example, if this robot welds a particular structural type, it can share the relevant learning results with all other robots. When other robots encounter the same type for welding again, they don't need to start scanning from the beginning; they can directly recognize and proceed with the welding," shared Jiang Chunguang, Deputy General Manager of CSSC Tianjin Shipbuilding Co., Ltd., describing this intelligent scenario. "The introduction of robots plays a very significant role in improving production efficiency and reducing costs."
Currently, the company has deployed approximately 40 flexible welding robots on the intermediate assembly production line, with plans to add around 100 more in the future, aiming to achieve intelligent coverage across the entire welding production process.
AI empowerment extends beyond the production floor. Jiang Chunguang revealed: "Our company is advancing an AI large model for safety management. We pre-input unsafe behaviors or potential violations, including unsafe conditions related to equipment. When unsafe conditions are identified through photos or video, the system sends notifications to management personnel or the individuals involved, instructing them to stop the unsafe behavior."
From "manufacturing" to "intelligent manufacturing," and from "human supervision" to "AI-managed safety," the construction of smart ships is reshaping the production paradigm of the shipbuilding industry.
Intelligent Logistics: One-Click Queries Break Down "Information Silos" in Multimodal Transport
Open the "One-Stop Digital Service Platform" mini-program, and real-time freight rates for full container load (FCL), less than container load (LCL) shipping, as well as rail, road, and air transport are immediately visible. Cargo status and vessel information can be tracked with a single click—this is the digital "tool" developed by the Tianjin Multimodal Transport Industry Association to address industry pain points.
"In the past, shipping prices were not transparent enough, leading to increased operational costs; communication across various booking stages was also not very smooth..." admitted Wang Xin, Secretary-General of the Tianjin Multimodal Transport Industry Association, explaining that due to these industry challenges, the association built the one-stop digital service platform mini-program. "The mini-program also serves as a platform for government-enterprise communication. Enterprises can receive relevant industry policies from the government and access services related to the business environment and people's mediation."
Currently, the association has over 150 member units, covering enterprises across the industrial chain's upstream and downstream, including shipping, road transport, air transport, container yards, railway yards, and shipping finance. "In the future, we will unite with the over one hundred enterprises in the association to jointly empower companies in Tianjin's multimodal transport industry and build a new ecosystem for intelligent shipping logistics," Wang Xin stated.
Intelligent Regulation: Hazard Prevention Shifts from "Passive Response" to "Second-Level Prevention and Control"
Intelligent risk assessment for hazard prevention, precise monitoring and early warning, intelligent interactive Q&A... Tailored to the actual operational scenarios of maritime supervision, the intelligent dynamic prevention and control platform for shipborne dangerous goods and ship pollution risks, independently developed by the Tianjin Maritime Safety Administration, recently entered the trial operation phase for launch.
"Traditional ship risk management models still have issues such as imprecise analysis, unsystematic supervision, and untimely responses," said Wang Heping, Deputy Director of the Hazard Management and Pollution Prevention Division at the Tianjin Maritime Safety Administration. The intelligent prevention and control platform developed by the team adopts an architecture of "hazard prevention risk indicator system + dedicated data resource pool + intelligent large model." It evaluates 32 risk factors across six categories: personnel, vessel, cargo, environment, management, and operations. It integrates data from vessels, hazard prevention, navigation, safety, regulations, as well as AIS, VTS, meteorological data, and more, constructing a "1+2+N" intelligent large model—one dedicated "brain," dual-engine driven by processes and tasks, and N micro-level intelligent scenarios.
"Before the large model, we relied on manual computer searches to analyze risk factors. Now, as soon as a vessel enters the reporting line, risks can be identified within seconds. If risks change during the port entry or exit process, second-level warnings are issued immediately," Wang Heping compared. The platform categorizes risks into three levels: high, medium, and low, achieving precise "one ship, one policy" prevention and control. For example, if a vessel is simultaneously handling chemical loading/unloading, has poor vessel condition, and encounters unfavorable weather, the system would judge it as high risk, allowing law enforcement officers to take targeted actions.
Since the trial operation began on May 1 this year, the platform has monitored a cumulative total of 5,672 vessel movements, identifying 89 high-risk and 745 medium-risk instances. The risk factor identification rate exceeds 90%, manual query time is reduced by over 80%, and regulatory costs are lowered by approximately 40%.
"Currently, intelligent AI is advancing rapidly. Risks from dangerous goods on ships can easily cause fires, explosions, and harm the marine environment. Timely identification and handling of risks is paramount; ensuring safety first is what enables the rapid development of the industry," Wang Heping emphasized.
It's not about replacing humans with machines, but about empowering people with intelligence; it's not technology for technology's sake, but innovation rooted in real scenarios... The "Smart Zero-Carbon" concept mentioned by Song Xiaotong, the robot "shared learning" described by Jiang Chunguang, the information bridge building shared by Wang Xin, and the risk prevention line guarded by the Maritime Safety Administration—these innovative practices scattered across various points of Tianjin's port and shipping industrial chain are converging into a powerful driving force propelling the transformation of the shipping industry.
The tide surges in the Bohai Sea, intelligence points to the future. In the sound of Tianjin Port's whistles, a new voyage for intelligent shipping has set sail.
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