The Sixth International Conference on Innovation and Cooperation in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering (ICNAME 2022), together with the Second International High-Level Forum on Autonomous Ship Navigation Technology, was held online on 22 December 2022.

Experts and scholars from 11 leading universities, research institutes and industry organizations participated in the conference, including Russia’s Marinet Industry Center, Rosmorport, the Russian University of Transport, Admiral Ushakov Maritime State University, Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember, the China Institute of Navigation, China Classification Society, Shanghai University, Shanghai Merchant Ship Design and Research Institute, Wuhan University of Technology and Harbin Engineering University.

The conference focused on intelligent and autonomous ships and unmanned vessel technologies. Participants exchanged views on frontier technologies supporting the intelligent, autonomous and digital transformation of ships and discussed ways to strengthen international scientific and technological cooperation in naval architecture and marine engineering.

Alexander Klimov, Rector of the Russian University of Transport and rotating chair of the forum, introduced the preparations for the event. Alexander Pinskiy, Head of Russia’s Marinet Industry Center; Wang Junli, Secretary-General of the Chinese Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers; and Xia Guihua, President of ICNAME, delivered opening remarks.

During the one-day conference, 11 presentations were delivered through an English-language livestream. Speakers shared developments and research trends in intelligent ships and unmanned vessel technologies in China and Russia, covering autonomous ships, unmanned surface vessels, autonomous tugboats and other major industrial and scientific challenges. Around 50 participants attended the online sessions, while the livestream attracted more than 300 views.

The forum was hosted by the Chinese Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers, ICNAME, Harbin Engineering University, the Russian University of Transport and Wuhan University of Technology. It was jointly organized by the International Joint Laboratory for Intelligent and Autonomous Ship Navigation Technology, the Key Laboratory of Intelligent Technology and Application of Marine Equipment of the Ministry of Education at Harbin Engineering University, and the Key Laboratory of High-Performance Ship Technology of the Ministry of Education at Wuhan University of Technology.

Building on the first forum held during ICNAME 2021, the event further promoted international cooperation through the International Joint Laboratory and encouraged joint efforts to address the challenges arising from the development of autonomous ships.