The first domestically produced 100-metric-ton-level vessel in China has successfully completed a round-trip autonomous navigation mission between Zhoushan, Zhejiang province and Sanya, Hainan province, with a total range of 4,206 kilometers, setting a record for autonomous navigation for unmanned vessels on deep-sea voyages. It is also China's first deep-sea autonomous navigation journey involving ultra-long-distance unmanned vessels.
The special round-trip training mission took 248 hours, with autonomous navigation time accounting for 96.57 percent. The voyage went through multiple tests such as high sea conditions, thick fog, low visibility at night, and busy waterway traffic flow.
During the execution of the mission, the trajectory was precise and showed good adaptability to the mission payload, and the environmental adaptability and system stability were further verified.
Sun Qiyu, manager of the general affairs department of Beikun Intelligence — developer of the unmanned surface vessel — said: "During the autonomous navigation, the unmanned surface vessel can automatically adopt collision avoidance strategies within 3.7 km of incoming ships. It always maintains a safe distance of at least 0.55 km from incoming vessels, and restores the scheduled route with a smooth path after avoidance."
