China is the world’s largest shipbuilding country. However, moving from “large” to “strong” still requires a critical leap. Challenges remain, including insufficient innovation in core technologies, the need to transform and upgrade traditional marine industries, and the fact that strategic emerging and future marine industries, together with their technologies and equipment, are still in the early stages of development. The task of building a strong maritime nation remains arduous.

Looking to the future, frontier fields such as deep sea, polar regions, green development, intelligence, and safety are strategic choices for building China into a strong maritime nation and fostering new quality productive forces in the marine sector. These areas will determine whether China can seize opportunities in the new global ocean economy, gain the initiative in developing the deep blue, and demonstrate the responsibility of a major country in building a maritime community with a shared future.

Clean Seas and Green Ships: Protecting Our Blue Home

Protecting the marine environment is not only essential to ecological balance, but also profoundly affects the future of humanity. Marine development should become greener in both equipment and energy use, achieving harmonious coexistence with the ocean.

A Net-Zero Future Voyage

Maritime shipping carries about 80% of global trade, while the global shipping industry emits around one billion tonnes of greenhouse gases each year. In April 2025, the International Maritime Organization adopted the world’s first mandatory agreement on shipping emissions reduction, which will take effect in 2027 and aims to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. More than 80% of China’s existing vessels will not meet the IMO’s 2050 carbon emission requirements. Green ships will therefore become the core direction of transformation for the future global shipping industry.

There are two major paths toward this breakthrough. The first is an energy revolution — a “heart replacement” for ships — focusing on blue fuels, electrofuels, and biofuels, building a diversified zero-carbon energy system, promoting the large-scale application of ammonia, hydrogen, methanol power systems, fuel cells, and power batteries, and fundamentally changing dependence on traditional fuels.

The second is a leap in energy efficiency. Through the deep integration of overall design optimization, special drag-reducing hull coatings, wind-assisted propulsion devices, and full-system integrated upgrades, ships can achieve a major improvement in overall performance.

Floating “Blue Oilfields”

To achieve marine carbon neutrality, clean energy must be obtained from the ocean. China’s proven technically exploitable offshore wind power potential exceeds 2.78 billion kW. Together with wave energy, ocean thermal energy, and other marine energy resources, the total exploitable potential exceeds 3.4 billion kW — more than twice the exploitable potential of similar land-based new energy resources.

By the end of 2024, China’s cumulative grid-connected offshore wind power capacity had reached 43 GW, accounting for 51.3% of the global market share and ranking first in the world for four consecutive years. Offshore photovoltaics also hold broad prospects. In China’s approximately 710,000 square kilometers of suitable sea areas, there is development potential of more than 70 GW.

Marine hydrogen energy is a strategic issue related to the energy revolution and will also become an important economic growth point for future marine industries. China is currently actively deploying demonstration projects for offshore wind power hydrogen production and storage. Overall, however, problems remain, including insufficient adaptation to local conditions and difficulties in marine energy consumption. Apart from wind energy, other forms of marine new energy urgently require technological breakthroughs.

Deep-Sea “Emergency Armor”

The ocean is unpredictable, and responding to emergencies is crucial. Maritime emergency and safety technologies are like a deep-sea “steel shield,” building a solid safety defense from nearshore to offshore waters.

In effectively responding to marine dynamic disasters, marine pollution disasters, and marine ecological disasters, China still faces challenges such as an incomplete industrial system, insufficient market development, and lagging independent R&D of key equipment. Targeted solutions are needed: in life-saving and rescue, breakthroughs are required in AI-based hazard identification, distress rescue, and amphibious rescue equipment; in emergency response, technologies are needed for deep-sea search and positioning, large-tonnage sunken vessel salvage, and unmanned search vessels; in offshore firefighting, specialized offshore equipment and intelligent firefighting robots should be developed; in pollution control, capabilities must be improved for large-scale oil spills and hazardous chemical emergencies, including the development of deepwater unmanned submersibles.

Turning the Sea into Treasure and Ships into Intelligent Systems: Activating a New Engine for the Blue Economy

Moving toward the deep sea and developing the ocean as a vast “blue treasure house” require the support of advanced equipment. Breakthroughs in intelligent and engineering-based equipment will become a new engine driving high-quality development of the marine economy.

Intelligent Ships

The wave of intelligence in the new era is sweeping across the global shipbuilding and shipping industries. Intelligent ships equipped with “smart brains” have become a core direction of shipping transformation.

Countries are competing fiercely in this field. In 2020, Japan launched the fully autonomous ship programme MEGURI 2040, aiming to make 50% of vessels on domestic routes unmanned by 2040. In 2021, the world’s first fully electric autonomous cargo vessel was unveiled in Norway, with autonomous collision avoidance and berthing capabilities, reducing operating costs by 90%.

In recent years, China has also achieved multiple breakthroughs. In 2022, the intelligent unmanned system mothership Zhuhaiyun was launched. In 2023, Dolphin 1, China’s first digital-twin intelligent scientific research test vessel developed by Harbin Engineering University, was delivered and began its maiden voyage.

In the future, intelligent ships will focus more on key technologies such as whole-ship information integration and fusion, efficient ship-shore coordination and control, multi-scenario autonomous assessment, and assisted decision-making.

The “Blue Granary”

Marine ranching opens the door to the “blue granary.” Advanced global marine ranching models point in three directions: large-scale aquaculture systems, automated and intelligent equipment facilities, and large-scale industrial development.

Norway has taken the lead in building an intelligent industrial system integrating land and sea, as well as catching, farming, and processing. By comparison, China still has a clear gap in marine ranching. There are significant shortcomings in deep-sea aquaculture equipment capable of resisting harsh sea conditions; the localization level of key systems and equipment remains insufficient; and key technologies such as cage cleaning and efficient feeding urgently need to be overcome.

In the future, marine ranching will deeply integrate frontier technologies such as the Internet of Things, robotics, and big data. Supported by offshore service hubs and land-based control centers, it will build an integrated “ship–shore–sea” intelligent operating ecosystem, ultimately promoting intensive, large-scale, green, and intelligent transformation of marine fisheries.

Deep-Blue Oil and Gas

Currently, 70% of newly discovered deepwater oil and gas fields worldwide are located in the deep sea. International deepwater oil and gas development is rapidly shifting from the model of floating structures plus risers and subsea production systems toward fully subsea production systems. Core equipment includes subsea Christmas trees, intelligent control systems, and high-end subsea connectors, all of which are highly technology-intensive and have high industrial added value.

Facing this technological high ground in energy development, China still has a relatively high dependence on foreign technologies. At the same time, the reserves of deep-sea natural gas hydrate are twice those of terrestrial petrochemical energy resources, making it one of the main directions for future human energy development. However, the maturity of technologies for industrial and large-scale exploitation still needs to be verified.

China is making comprehensive strategic arrangements for subsea production systems in deep-sea oil and gas development and for deep-sea natural gas hydrate development technologies. The country is moving from “partially controllable technologies” toward “fully independent technologies” and “controllable markets,” using hard-core technologies to safeguard national energy security and support the national strategy for deep-sea resource development.

Deep-Sea Mining

The deep sea contains vast quantities of key mineral resources, including polymetallic nodules, cobalt-rich ferromanganese crusts, and hydrothermal sulfides. China is the world’s largest consumer of copper, cobalt, nickel, and manganese, yet its self-sufficiency rate in these resources is extremely low. With the rapid development of new energy vehicles, consumption growth of nonferrous metals has far exceeded growth in supply capacity, posing major risks to industrial security.

At the same time, China’s reserves of key strategic metals in the deep sea are generally tens to thousands of times greater than terrestrial reserves, giving deep-sea mineral resource development major strategic significance. China has obtained five exclusive exploration blocks in the international seabed area and is now in a critical stage of technological accumulation and testing. The time constraints for development rights in high-seas mining areas are increasingly urgent.

Deep-sea mining involves a highly complex technological system and is far more difficult than deepwater oil and gas development. Six key areas — exploration, mining, collection, transportation, vessels, and environmental assessment — urgently require support from technologies such as digital twins, seabed big data, environmental protection technologies, and high-end equipment.

Intelligent “Swarm” Forces

Human deep-sea activities depend on “eyes” and “hands” that can operate flexibly in complex environments. These are new marine vehicles, including intelligent underwater robots, remotely operated vehicles, unmanned surface vessels, manned underwater vehicles, and underwater gliders. Like deep-sea “swarms,” they continuously expand the boundaries of human exploration, monitoring, and operations.

The development of marine agriculture, marine mining, marine oil and gas, and other industries has increased the urgency of technological innovation in new marine vehicles, driving the application and R&D of more advanced and effective systems. Major developed countries have all regarded new marine vehicles as a frontier and focus of marine industry competition and are accelerating their strategic deployment. The industry is entering a window period for upgrading and leapfrog development.

It is foreseeable that future marine vehicles will further develop toward long endurance, embodied intelligence, cross-domain operation, swarm collaboration, and specialized operations.

Hard Technologies and Solid Foundations: Mastering Core Marine Technologies

Frontier technologies such as intelligent design, special marine materials, marine sensors, and special marine power are common foundational technologies for marine industries and new growth points for the marine economy.

Intelligent Design

Equipment innovation begins with design. The core and bottleneck of intelligent ship design lie in industrial software, covering the full chain of CAD design, CAE analysis and evaluation, CAM manufacturing, and PLM lifecycle management.

China’s independently developed shipbuilding industrial software has achieved a landmark breakthrough. In December 2025, the 702 Research Institute of CSSC and Harbin Engineering University released the “Wave Platform.” As the world’s first shipbuilding CAE industrial software integrating performance simulation, contract design, and digital plan approval and review, it has significantly enhanced the core competitiveness of China’s shipbuilding industry.

“Invisible Armor”

Special marine materials are the “invisible armor” that determines the performance and lifespan of equipment. As the saying goes, “one generation of materials supports one generation of equipment and one generation of industry.” The development of marine engineering equipment requires materials to come first and applications to drive progress.

At present, China has not yet established a complete marine new materials system, and some high-end products and core technologies still rely on imports. Special marine materials are the hard material foundation enabling equipment to advance into the deep sea, resist high pressure, prevent corrosion, and withstand extreme environments. They include two core categories: special structural materials and functional materials. These materials directly define the performance boundaries, service life, and operational safety of equipment.

In 2024, China’s marine materials market exceeded one trillion yuan, showing strong development momentum. The growth of the marine materials industry is deeply dependent on equipment development. Urgent issues include addressing the disconnect among industry, universities, and research institutes, coordinating upstream and downstream relationships, establishing independent standardization systems, and actively participating in the formulation of global industry rules.

The “Eyes” and “Ears” of Ocean Perception

As deep-sea equipment moves through the ocean, perception must move with it. Marine sensors are the “eyes” and “ears” of underwater intelligent equipment. They are core components that capture full-dimensional information about ocean physics, chemistry, biology, and geography, enabling equipment to clearly “understand” its surroundings and accurately “sense” its own state.

Marine sensors cover seven major categories, 58 types, and 135 kinds of core marine sensors. There is still a long way to go from “technological controllability” to “market controllability.” At present, China’s marine sensor technologies urgently need breakthroughs across the entire chain, from principle verification, materials and processes, intelligent manufacturing, and reliability testing to commercial promotion. Only through deep integration of technological innovation and business model innovation can China build an independent and complete marine perception system.

The “Green Heart” of Future Marine Equipment

The concept of “special marine power” is era-specific, relative, and dynamic. It refers to power systems other than conventional piston internal combustion engines, blade engines, steam turbines, jet engines, and rocket engines. It includes hot gas engines, rotary engines, metal fuel power systems, unconventional fuel power systems such as hydrogen and ammonia, and special fuel cells.

Special marine power has become a cutting-edge battlefield in the global marine equipment sector. For example, Europe, the United States, Japan, and others have already achieved practical applications in hydrogen fuel cells, while China’s mainstream submersibles still rely on traditional battery technologies and urgently need leapfrog development.

In the future, China needs to make breakthroughs in high-energy-density metal fuels, safe and efficient hydrogen and ammonia storage, transport and combustion, and related technologies, forging a powerful and enduring “green Chinese heart” for marine equipment.

Controlling the Sea and Safeguarding Rights: Building a Strong Marine Security Barrier

Safeguarding national maritime rights and interests and expanding strategic development space require not only systematic and intelligent advanced technologies and equipment, but also coordinated land-sea planning and integrated development between inland and coastal regions.

The “Intelligent Neural Network” of the Smart Ocean

The protection of maritime rights and interests has evolved from traditional physical-domain competition into a systematic contest based increasingly on information and data. Through new-generation information technologies, information on the marine environment, equipment, activities, and management can be deeply integrated, enabling systematic integration of equipment and activities in maritime rights protection, governance, and development.

The key lies in building a three-dimensional information network — an “intelligent neural network” — seamlessly connecting space-based, air-based, sea-based, and land-based systems. Developed countries are already accelerating the deployment of integrated networks. China is still in the basic stage of integrating space-based, ground-based, and mobile networks, while sea-based information service capabilities remain to be improved.

Future technologies are expected to focus on integrating quantum computing and artificial intelligence, combining emerging technologies such as cloud computing, fog computing, and blockchain, and overcoming key technologies for integrated networking across sea, air, space, and land, as well as terminal environmental adaptability. This will enable comprehensive information monitoring for space, air, and sea control.

The New Frontier of the Polar Regions

Together with the deep sea, outer space, and cyberspace, the polar regions are among China’s four strategic new frontiers. They are also emerging security domains and important directions for expanding overseas interests. Their value in shipping, resources, and geopolitics is becoming increasingly prominent.

Polar engineering technologies are a key support for China’s participation in polar governance. However, China still has gaps in polar ship equipment and related technologies. To meet strategic needs such as frontier polar science, the construction of the “Polar Silk Road,” joint development of polar oil and gas resources, and integrated space applications, China urgently needs to develop advanced technical equipment for polar scientific exploration and enhance its ability to participate in global polar governance.

It is also necessary to develop three-dimensional monitoring systems for the Arctic and Antarctic environments, improve comprehensive space utilization capabilities in polar regions, develop key technologies and equipment for polar support, enhance efficient polar access and long-term presence capabilities, and develop polar engineering technologies and equipment to improve the utilization of polar routes and resource development capabilities.

The ocean is the future of human development, and building a strong maritime nation is an inevitable path for major-country development. Strengthening China through the ocean is an urgent mission. Every technological breakthrough, from green ships to deep-sea mining and from intelligent design to integrated space-air-sea-land networks, represents a solid step toward the deep blue.

Only by firmly mastering core equipment and key technologies can China safeguard its maritime sovereignty and lead the blue economy.

Authors: Han Duanfeng and Ni Baoyu
Han Duanfeng is Vice President and Professor of Harbin Engineering University. Ni Baoyu is Dean and Professor of the College of Shipbuilding Engineering, Harbin Engineering University.

Original Link: https://app.guangmingdaily.cn/as/opened/n/e02de6ae863848459ff6eaaeba1f0d01