Since the beginning of the 21st century, with the rapid development of the new-generation information technology and high-end manufacturing industries, major shipping and shipbuilding nations have engaged in research and demonstration projects on intelligent ships, and have accelerated their strategic positioning in this field in recent years. This paper analyzes the water environment and navigation characteristics of inland waterways, reviews research progress on key technologies for intelligent inland ships—including intelligent navigation, cybersecurity, intelligent devices and systems, testing, verification, and evaluation—as well as the development of classification standards for intelligence levels of inland ships. It also presents typical engineering cases of intelligent inland ships and discusses future development trends. At present, the overall development of intelligent ships is still in its early stages. The domestic shipbuilding and shipping industry should align with China's development strategy of “new quality productive forces” to strengthen the domestic industrial chain and consolidate the industry's leading position in the new economic development paradigm.

China’s transportation industry has entered a new development stage of comprehensive construction of transportation power. And the comparative advantage of the inland waterway transport in the comprehensive transportation system has not yet been fully utilized. The implementation of the new development pattern of “dual circulation” and the “dual carbon” strategy requires innovative development of inland waterway transport and its core elements of ship technology. The development of the inland waterway transport infrastructure and ship technology is prospected by reviewing and summarizing the development status, relevant policy evolution, innovative technology research progress, and typical cases of inland waterway transport, maritime transport and ship technology at home and abroad. The future inland waterway transport infrastructure will be deeply integrated with digital, information, and network technologies, and the shore based control center will be networked as critical facilities and ship energy supply facility. Ships are evolving towards standardization and genealogy of ship types, intelligence, low-manned, green and diversified energy, and mainstreaming of electric propulsion. Ship formation navigation has become an innovative transportation mode. The exploration of the transformation direction of the inland waterway transport infrastructure and ship technology can provide references for the construction of a new generation of inland waterway transport system and the research and development of advanced ship types.

The current study aims at the promotion of river-sea-going transportation on specific routes and the improvement of the standardization level of the river-sea-going ships. It reviews the revisions of the technical standards, principal dimension series of standard ship types and the navigation management regulations for the river-sea-going ships on specific routes, as well as the navigation conditions of the Jiangsu section of the Beijing Hangzhou Canal to Yangshan port. Combined with the analysis of the state-of-the-art of the typical river-sea-going ships on the specific route, the technical characteristics of the standard ship types are analyzed in terms of the ship principal dimensions, cabin arrangement, hull structure, ship hull form, propulsion and speed, energy-saving and resistance reduction technology, seaworthiness and seakeeping capabilities, draft and floating state, green ship technology, intelligent ship and navigation aid technology. Finally, four hull form schemes are briefly introduced. The policy implementation and the vigorous development of the shipping market demand show a good development prospect for this ship type. Based on the life cycle assessment, the green and energy-saving intelligent ships using advanced technology while meeting the energy efficiency design index (EEDI) become an important development direction for the standard ship types.