Implementation opinions on accelerating the green and intelligent development of inland waterway vessels

Inland ships are ships sailing in China's inland waters and river-sea interface areas, mainly including passenger ships, cargo ships, engineering ships, etc., with large capacity, low energy consumption, low cost comparative advantages, is an important part of China's shipbuilding industry equipment system. In recent years, the large-scale and standardized development of inland river ships in China has achieved positive results, but there is still a gap in green and intelligent aspects compared with the green and low-carbon development of economy and society and the needs of the people for a better life. In order to thoroughly implement the major strategic deployment of the Party Central Committee and The State Council on carbon peaking and carbon neutrality, fully implement the relevant requirements for the ecological priority green development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt, and accelerate the green and intelligent development of inland waterway vessels, the following opinions are proposed in accordance with the national "14th Five-Year Plan" planning requirements for shipbuilding industry and transportation.

I. General requirements

(1) Guiding ideology.  Guided by promoting the green, intelligent and standardized development of inland waterway vessels, focusing on the development of new and clean energy powered vessels, strengthening industrial chain coordination, selecting typical scenarios to carry out demonstration applications according to local conditions, promoting market-oriented operation, industrial integration and large-scale application, realizing commercial sustainability, and accelerating the green, intelligent transformation and high-quality development of inland waterway vessels. It will provide strong support for building a strong manufacturing, shipbuilding and transportation country.

(2) Basic principles. We will adhere to policy guidance, strengthen coordination among government departments, local governments, and enterprises, and jointly implement policies at both ends of supply and demand to stimulate the vitality of market players. We will continue to pursue green intelligence, develop green shipbuilding, green shipping, and green shipping, promote the empowerment of next-generation information technology, and enhance safe and green development. We will continue to be innovation-driven, gather advantageous resources in the industrial chain, promote scientific and technological innovation, management innovation and business model innovation, and improve the quality and efficiency of development. We will adhere to demonstration and popularization, support representative areas in inland river basins to conduct trials first, sum up typical experiences and practices, and steadily promote them.

3. Development goals. By 2025, breakthroughs will be made in key green power technologies such as liquefied natural gas (LNG), batteries, methanol and hydrogen fuel, the level of intelligent ship equipment technology will be significantly improved, and a green intelligent standard and regulation system for inland waterway ships will be basically formed. Cultivate a number of influential green and intelligent inland waterway ship design, construction, supporting and operation enterprises, create a number of standardized and serialized ship types that meet the needs of different scenarios, realize demonstration applications in representative areas such as the Yangtze River, Xijiang River, Beijing-Hangzhou Canal and Minjiang River, form replicable and popularizable experience, and initially build a benign and sustainable industrial ecology. The green, intelligent and standardized development of inland vessels has achieved remarkable results, and a relatively complete industrial chain and supply chain has been established.

By 2030, the green and intelligent technology of inland ships will be fully promoted and applied, the supporting infrastructure, operation management, business model and other industrial ecology will be improved, standardized and serialized green and intelligent ship types will be built in batches, the industrial chain and supply chain level will be greatly improved, and a modern industrial system for inland ships will be initially established.

Second, give priority to the development of green power technology

(4) Actively and steadily develop LNG-powered ships. Accelerate the iterative upgrading of LNG engines for inland river ships, improve the product pedigree of pure natural gas Marine engines, develop gas-electric hybrid technology, and strengthen the control of methane escape and nitrogen oxide emissions. Strengthen the integration and optimization design of LNG power system, and focus on promoting the application of LNG power technology in the coastal, Yangtze River trunk, Xijiang trunk, Beijing-Hangzhou Canal and other medium and long distance cargo ships with more than 2,000 DWT and engineering ships.

(5) Accelerating the development of battery-powered ships. Strengthen the integration and optimization of Marine power batteries, battery management systems and other technologies, promote technology research on energy-efficient motors, power system networking, and ship charging and replacing, improve the capacity and safety performance of Marine battery powertrain, and focus on promoting the application of pure battery power technology in short-haul inland cargo ships, riverside cruise ships and ships in the Kuhu District. Taking cargo ship as a pilot, the research and application of standardized box-type power change technology are carried out.

(6) Promote the application of methanol, hydrogen and other power technologies. Accelerate the research and development of Marine methanol engines, reduce the emission of unconventional pollutants such as formaldehyde, improve the power range and fuel conversion efficiency of Marine methanol fuel cells, and promote the application of methanol power technology in cargo ships. Strengthen the research and development of Marine hydrogen fuel cell power system, hydrogen storage system, refueling system and other technical equipment, explore the application of hydrogen fuel cell power technology in passenger ships, encourage the use of renewable energy such as solar energy electrolysis water generated green hydrogen.

Third, accelerate the development and application of smart technologies

7. Accelerating the application of advanced and applicable safety and environmental protection smart technologies. Reduce ship safety risks and crew labor intensity, accelerate the research and development of intelligent systems and equipment such as ship navigation, docking and docking, cargo handling, engine room equipment monitoring, and rapid charging and replacement, and promote the application of ships in waters with complex navigation environments. To improve ship energy efficiency and reduce pollution emissions, accelerate the research and development of intelligent systems and equipment such as operation management, route optimization, intelligent engine room, emission monitoring, and data transmission, and promote the application of large cargo ships and passenger ships such as the Yangtze River Trunk Line and Xijiang Trunk Line.

(8) Promoting the research and development and application of next-generation intelligent navigation ship technology. Strengthen the research and development of new digital intelligent Marine equipment, carry out research on the new mode of ship navigation based on 5G network of "shoreline driving control and ship terminal watch", focus on breaking through the remote driving technology and collision avoidance technology under ship-shore cooperation, and improve the ship-shore communication capability and safety level. To study the pilot demonstration of remote driving system technology on passenger ships and cargo ships in key branch routes with good navigation order and moderate vessel traffic density. We will strengthen the forward-looking technological layout of smart ships, explore the development of autonomous navigation ships, and promote the innovative development of inland waterway shipping.

Fourth, improve the level of green intelligent ship industry

(9) Strengthen the standardized design of green smart ships. Improve the level of ship design, strengthen the form line optimization, ship engine and paddle matching, lightweight technology and other engineering applications, strengthen the ship appearance, logo and other industrial design. Strengthen standardized design, form a technical spectrum and equipment list, and create standardized ship series products that meet the needs of different application scenarios. Strengthen the supporting and leading role of technical standards such as processes, equipment and products in the design and brand building of green intelligent ships, focus on energy efficiency, safety, environmental protection and other requirements to formulate industry and national standards, and guide enterprises and social groups to develop enterprise standards and group standards with higher technical level and quality reliability.

(10) Promoting the transformation and upgrading of inland ship manufacturing. Speed up the adjustment of industrial structure, encourage the merger and reorganization of inland river ship manufacturing enterprises and professional integration, and increase the effective supply of high-quality production capacity. Optimize the layout of inland ship manufacturing industry, promote industrial transfer through cross-regional cooperation, and improve the quality of inland ship manufacturing in underdeveloped areas. Foster a number of inland ship manufacturing backbone enterprises, deepen the integration of inland ship design and construction, accelerate the deep integration of information technology and ship manufacturing technology, explore the mass customized procurement mode of major raw materials such as steel, and vigorously promote standardized, intensive, green and intelligent production.

(11) Building a new industrial chain of green smart ships. Encourage leading enterprises as the main body, gather research and development, design, construction, supporting, operation and other industrial chain advantages of the upstream and downstream resources, the formation of industrial alliances, to create a collaborative innovation platform, and promote the development of green intelligent common technology of inland vessels and the transformation and application of results. Build an inland green intelligent ship industry cluster, focus on the inland ship assembly and construction base, and promote the development of upstream and downstream supporting industries such as Marine power batteries, motors, box power supplies, battery management systems, charging and replacing equipment. Foster advantageous enterprises in the supporting industry chain of ships, promote the expansion and strengthening of key systems and equipment enterprises such as engines, fuel storage and transportation, and intelligent management, and form a group of specialized and special "small giant" enterprises.

Fifth, establish and improve the green intelligent ship industry ecology

(12) Improving supporting facilities for the operation of green and smart ships. We will speed up the construction of supporting infrastructure, support the construction of new energy and clean energy supply facilities such as filling and charging (replacement) electricity, improve the construction approval process and acceptance criteria system, and build a convenient and complete network of facilities. We will innovate the construction and operation models of supporting facilities, study and build a long-term stable supply and price guarantee model linked to traditional energy sources, and achieve coordinated and sustainable development of energy industries such as electricity and LNG and shipbuilding industries. Improve the comprehensive service level of supporting facilities, encourage the construction of green shipping comprehensive service areas, and provide integrated and integrated services such as ship energy supply, emergency navigation repair, spare parts supply, emergency rescue, household services, sewage waste reception and transportation. We will support the construction of shore-based ship control centers and inland waterway ship control cloud platforms, strengthen ship-shore communication facilities, and enhance remote driving support capabilities.

(13) Promote green smart ship business model innovation. Create a new model of benefit sharing, support cargo owners, ports, energy companies, financial institutions, power batteries and other key supporting enterprises to deeply participate in the development of the inland green smart ship industry, stabilize transportation demand and energy supply, reduce construction and operation costs, and improve the quality and efficiency of operations. Explore ship leasing, and promote large-scale centralized manufacturing and specialized leasing operations; Explore the sharing of facilities, and implement the sharing of portable ship equipment such as standardized fuel tanks and tank power supplies; Explore the separation of ship electricity, and provide public battery design, manufacturing, leasing, recycling, processing and other services by third-party standardized box-type power leasing enterprises; Explore intelligent operation and maintenance, and improve the ability of professional public operation and maintenance platforms to provide accurate services such as ship maintenance and fuel supply.

(14) Strengthen and improve ship operation management. Carry out the optimization of ship types, research and formulate a green and intelligent inland river ship type catalog, and explore the policy support for the ship types in the catalog. China will strictly implement the national standards for the discharge of air and water pollutants from ships, study and implement an energy efficiency Design index (EEDI) access system for newly built inland waterway ships, establish an energy efficiency marking system for existing inland waterway ships, accelerate the scrapping and renewal of existing old ships with high energy consumption and high emissions, and encourage areas where conditions permit to establish an exit mechanism for existing oil-powered ships. Improve the technical specifications of pure battery power, methanol, hydrogen fuel and other ships, and establish a standard system for charging (replacing) electric vessels. We will adjust and improve the policy for major reconstruction of passenger vessels, and support the use of batteries and LNG power on qualified existing passenger vessels. Strengthen the dynamic supervision and management of the quality of fuel oil used by ships, and severely punish vessels and enterprises that use oil illegally.

15. Strengthening safety and quality management. Improve the safety and quality technical standards of green smart ships and key equipment, and strengthen the risk assessment of key ship supporting systems and equipment such as power systems, storage, transportation and refueling systems. Strengthen the management of ship inspection to ensure the quality of ship inspection. Enterprises in inland river ship manufacturing, shipping and supporting infrastructure operations should strengthen quality and safety risk management, strictly implement relevant standards, earnestly implement the responsibility system for safe production, establish and improve quality and safety management systems and systems, and strengthen education and training in safe production.

6. Strengthen organization and implementation

(16) Encourage early trials. We will further implement major regional strategies such as the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region, the development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt, and the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. We will encourage the provinces of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Fujian, Shandong, Hubei, Guangdong, Guangxi, and Hebei's Xiongan New Area to take the lead, pool all kinds of social resources, increase the number of green and smart ships, and optimize the stock of traditional oil-powered ships. Strengthen the supervision of the operation of new energy and clean energy inland waterway vessels, improve the overall quality level and energy efficiency level of inland waterway vessels, significantly reduce pollution emissions of inland waterway vessels, and form a new model of green intelligent inland waterway vessel operation and development that can be replicated, promoted and sustainable.

17. Strengthening policy support. We will use the existing funding channels of the central government to support the research and development and application of green smart ships and their industrialization and large-scale development, optimize and improve insurance compensation policies, and accelerate the promotion and application of the first green smart ships (sets). Give full play to the role of the national industry and finance cooperation platform, make full use of the existing green finance and other policies, and actively promote various financial institutions to adopt equity financing, green credit, equipment financing, financial leasing and other methods to reasonably reduce the comprehensive financing cost of the green smart ship industry chain. Local governments are encouraged to study and formulate support policies such as approval of green and intelligent inland waterway vessel manufacturing capacity.

(18) Establishing an evaluation mechanism. Mobilize the enthusiasm of industry associations, professional institutions, and industrial alliances, give full play to the role of experts in consulting, establish a green and intelligent development and policy evaluation mechanism for inland waterway ships, track and study the development of green and intelligent inland waterway ships and existing problems, organize the implementation of policies and the evaluation of pilot projects in key areas in a timely manner, and promote mature practices and successful experiences.

19. Promoting implementation in a coordinated manner. We will strengthen linkages among government departments, local governments, and enterprises to form synergy in policies. Relevant departments of all localities should strengthen coordination and cooperation, clarify work objectives, refine the division of tasks, implement work measures, and report progress to relevant central departments in a timely manner. The competent department of the local shipbuilding industry to carry out the first trial shall, together with the relevant departments, formulate specific implementation plans and report them to the second Department of Equipment Industry of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.