CHINA has set out a state-led push to embed artificial intelligence across shipping, with aims to monitor global maritime chokepoints, streamline operations and support the industry’s green transition.

Earlier this week, China’s transport ministry published the 22-point AI deployment guide addressed to three state-owned giants — China Cosco Shipping, China Merchants Group and China Communications Construction Group — as well as provincial transport authorities.

The guide marks Beijing’s latest such push to turn its national “AI Plus” strategy into practical industry applications, with ministries drawing up sector-specific priorities to accelerate adoption across the national economy.

The transport ministry said water transport’s reliance on “labour-intensive, repetitive and hazardous” work creates an “inherent need for deep AI adoption”, adding that it aims to develop solutions that can be “replicated and scaled up” across the sector.

A ministry spokesperson said China’s water transport sector was undergoing a “revolution”, citing 60 automated container and dry bulk terminals already in operation. The next step, the spokesperson said, was to tackle industry bottlenecks by deploying AI at scale based on successful applications.

Safety tops the agenda, with AI tools proposed for predicting equipment failures, detecting unusual vessel movements and coordinating emergency responses. Drones and unmanned surface and underwater vessels could also assist search-and-rescue operations, it said.

For international shipping, the guide calls for an AI system to flag unusual vessel movements and operations along key shipping routes and at major ports. Lloyd’s List understands that related AI projects are now in early planning, including tools to forecast port congestion using historical and real-time data.

The guide also maps out extensive commercial uses. AI models would help carriers design routes, select port calls, deploy vessels and manage schedules and cargo flows, it said. Other systems would forecast global container demand, optimise the repositioning of empty boxes and monitor spending to detect cost overruns and identify savings.

Decarbonisation is the third pillar. The guide said carriers could use AI tools to navigate carbon regulations and compare the costs of different fleet-deployment strategies. They would also help calculate vessel emissions, estimate compliance costs and develop tailored plans for cutting emissions, it said.

The guide sets no binding deadlines or investment targets, leaving provincial authorities, state-owned groups and other bodies to determine their own priorities. They were also encouraged to seek government and dedicated funding for AI projects.

However, it also acknowledges risks created by putting AI deeper into shipboard systems. The ministry called for security testing against manipulated inputs and poisoned data to assess the resilience of models.

Tianchen Xu, a Beijing-based economist at the Economist Intelligence Unit, said it’s unclear how much support the government would commit at the moment.

“The more financial incentives provided, the quicker the adoption,” Xu told Lloyd’s List. “The good AI projects would be put into commercial use, while others risk becoming box-ticking exercises.”

China’s economy is highly top-down, particularly in strategic sectors such as AI, Xu added.