On August 23, 2026, the ICNAME Conference 2026 on Basin Test Program for Typhoon-Resistant Mooring Control of Ships at Berths was held at the Qingdao Deep Far-Sea Basin Experimental Center. The workshop was initiated and organized by ICNAME and brought together more than 20 experts and industry representatives from universities, classification societies, shipyards, research institutes, ports, shipping companies, and technology enterprises.

Participants included Sime Malenica, Deputy Director of Research and Development at Bureau Veritas (BV); Professors Xia Guihua, Kang Zhuang, Shi Shan, Zhao Binbin from Harbin Engineering University; Huang Yuxin, Associate Researcher at Hohai University; Zhang Chengshun, Director of the Technical Research Institute of Qingdao Beihai Shipbuilding Co., Ltd.; Xu Zhouzhe, Director of the Construction Technology Office, and Li Kaixuan, Safety Supervisor of the Safety and Environment Department; Yu Tianxiang from the Shipbuilding Technology Research Institute of China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC); Captain Zhu Fengting from a Qingdao port and shipping company; Yang Ke, Assistant Researcher at the Qingdao Innovation and Development Base of Harbin Engineering University; and Zhang Lin from Qingdao Harbin Ship Intelligent Control Technology Co., Ltd.

Typhoon-resistant mooring of large ships at berths is a fundamental safeguard for vessel safety during severe tropical storms. A scientifically designed and properly implemented mooring control scheme is essential for maintaining vessel stability and preventing mooring failures under extreme wind, wave, and current conditions. Research on basin testing methods for the mooring control of large ships can provide an important technical basis for developing scientific, rational, and reliable mooring arrangements for different types of vessels, and therefore has significant engineering and practical value.

The conference was chaired by Professor Xia Guihua of Harbin Engineering University. Professor Shi Shan of HEU introduced the proposed basin test program for ship–berth mooring control and delivered a keynote presentation on the experimental methodology. Sime Malenica of Bureau Veritas presented numerical methods for ship mooring analysis.

During the conference, participants held in-depth discussions on the causes of ship mooring accidents at berths under typhoon conditions, the necessity of systematic research and basin testing for mooring control schemes, theoretical and numerical calculation methods, and the major technical challenges involved in physical model experiments.

The participants agreed that systematic basin experiments on ship–berth mooring control are highly necessary and can provide valuable guidance for shipowners, ports, shipyards, and other stakeholders in developing reliable mooring strategies, thereby enhancing the resilience of ships and port facilities against typhoon-induced extreme environmental loads.

The conference further agreed to initiate an International Joint Industry Project (JIP) on Basin Test Program for Mooring Control of Ships at Berths under Typhoon Conditions under the JIP framework of ICNAME. Shipyards, ports, shipping companies, universities, research institutes, classification societies, and other organizations worldwide will be invited to participate in the initiative, with the aim of jointly addressing key scientific and engineering challenges associated with typhoon-resistant ship mooring and promoting international collaboration in maritime safety and engineering.