On February 21, 2026, the “Zhi Fei”—China’s first commercially operated intelligent container ship—successfully completed autonomous navigation, berthing, and cargo handling operations at the Qingdao Port’s automated terminal in Shandong Province, with no human intervention at any stage. This marks world’s first end-to-end autonomous operation covering the full process of navigation, docking, mooring, and container handling.

Once the vessel was precisely positioned, the vacuum suction cups of the automated vacuum mooring system powerfully adhered to the hull, securing the vessel firmly to the berth in 30 seconds without the need for manual mooring lines. Immediately after, the terminal’s Automated Terminal Operating System (A-TOS) and Automated Equipment Control System (A-ECS) worked together to command automated gantry cranes and automated guided vehicles, and completed the container loading and unloading operations, without any human intervention.

This breakthrough marks China's success in realizing for the first time the fully autonomous berthing for container ships at fully automated terminals, propelling the coordinated development of China's smart shipping and smart ports into a new stage.

(Source: Ministry of Transport)