Thetius analysts calculated the maritime autonomous surface shipping market will grow by seven per cent per year to US$1.5 billion by 2025.

Researchers unearthed 3,000 patents relating to autonomous shipping technology worldwide. They found 96 per cent of these were registered in China, reported London's Riviera Maritime Media.

Most of those patents were registered in the last five years by a small group of Chinese universities and private companies, says Thetius director Nick Chubb.

"The incredible amount of recent patent activity indicates significant research and development funding has been made available to Chinese researchers building the next generation of autonomous shipping technology,"said Mr Chubb. "The Chinese government is highly supportive of the sector, having recently set up a 777 km2 autonomous shipping testbed in Guangdong."

In this testbed site, Zhuhai-based technology group Yunzhou Tech completed trials with autonomous cargo ship Jin Dou Yun 0 Hao in December 2019.

This 12.9 metre vessel carried a cargo from Dong Ao island, Guangdong province, to a pier by the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao bridge. It was operated by automatic navigation technology and remote control, and powered from an electrical plant.

Jin Dou Yun 0 Hao is seen as a platform for advancing the technological progress and industrial development of intelligent ships in China. Yunzhou Tech said it would further test this vessel and look for commercial operators and applications.

Also in December 2019, Qingdao-based smart ship technology group Navigation Brilliance contracted Yangfan Shipbuilding's Qingdao Shipyard to construct 300-TEU autonomous container ship, Zhi Fei, for shortsea operations from the third quarter 2021.

This ship is being developed by Navigation Brilliance in conjunction with Dalian Maritime University and China Waterborne Transport Research Institute.

Yunzhou Tech has also partnered with Zhuhai Port Shipping to develop unmanned cargo ships, which could lead to more shipyard orders this decade.

Zhuhai port plans to expand its river and coastal cargo transportation fleet after raising US$145 million in May 2019. It intends to spend this cash on a fleet of 50 vessels, including newbuildings and potentially autonomous vessels.

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