Dangerous goods

Another lab at the Tianjin institute is looking into ways that the transport of dangerous goods can be handled more safely.

China transports more than 1.4 billion metric tons of dangerous goods through its waterways each year, accounting for about 40 percent of the country's total dangerous goods transport volume.

While they are essential for industrial production and economic activities, these goods also bring risks, especially when cargo is falsely reported, concealed or transported under unsuitable conditions.

According to Lu Linlin, an associate researcher on the institute's safety team, the lab has built a full-process technical support system covering material properties, transport conditions, risk warning and emergency response.

Researchers can simulate temperatures ranging from — 40 C to 80 C to test the strength and sealing performance of dangerous goods packaging. A handheld identification device can determine the identity of a liquid within seconds, helping inspectors screen risks earlier.

For port safety, the key is not to find out what a dangerous material is after something goes wrong. Rather, it is to know before the cargo enters the transport chain what it is, whether it can be transported, how it should be packed and under what conditions it may become unsafe.

At the Tianjin institute's navigation safety lab, data on adjacent Bohai Bay's wind, waves, currents and tides are displayed in real time. An intelligent platform supports safe port entry for fully loaded 400,000-ton vessels, night navigation for 200,000-ton vessels and emergency night entry for liquefied natural gas carriers.

Smart technologies are steering waterway management from experience-based judgment to data-driven coordination.

Ship to shore

At Dalian Maritime University in Dalian, Liaoning province, this focus has extended from ports and waterways to intelligent shipping and deep-sea equipment.

The university and China COSCO Shipping have co-developed the Xin Hong Zhuan, the world's first intelligent ship that integrates remote control, autonomous sailing and teaching practice.

In June last year, the vessel embarked on a landmark 4,000-nautical-mile mission to test its smart systems, as well as the university's shore-based digital platform.

The platform serves as a "shore-based cockpit" for intelligent vessels. In open waters, ships can rely more on autonomous systems; in narrow waterways, bad weather or emergencies, shore-based operators can provide remote support or take control.

Yin Yong, a professor at Dalian Maritime University's Navigation College, said the system can give captains real-time advice on speed and course, while also supporting autonomous navigation in open seas.

"It is not just a system on shore," Yin said. "The laboratory has one set, and the vessel has one set as well. The two sides can work together. The system can advise the captain what speed to take, what course to follow and, when the ship reaches the open ocean, support autonomous navigation."

Yin said intelligent shipping is not simply about installing sensors on vessels or removing crews overnight. Instead, it is about building coordination among ships, shore-based platforms, AI systems and human operators.

In deeper waters, Chinese researchers are also pushing forward with domestically developed deep-sea equipment. A full-ocean-depth winch system developed by a team led by Li Wenhua, a professor at Dalian Maritime University, is providing a "lifeline" connecting scientific research vessels with deep-sea equipment.

"Lowering equipment into the deep sea is like flying a kite at a depth of 10,000 meters," Li said. The cable must be light, strong, stable and orderly, while also transmitting power, control signals and images, and safely retrieving samples.

The technologies seen in these laboratories are not confined to research papers or demonstration screens. Many have already been applied in highways, ports, waterways, ship operations and deep-sea exploration, offering practical solutions to real challenges facing China's transport system.

As AI, intelligent sensing, digital platforms and advanced equipment move into real transport scenarios, China's transport development is entering a stage focused on extending infrastructure networks and improving the intelligence, safety and resilience of the entire system.

luowangshu@chinadaily.com.cn