The multi-functional unmanned dredging vessel debuts at the 2026 World Robot Conference.

Recently, the 2026 World Robot Conference was held in Beijing, showcasing a large number of special robots designed for real-world industrial applications. The "Hailing 01," the first dredging industry trailing suction hopper dredger equipped with a multifunctional unmanned vessel in Asia, jointly developed by CCCC Shanghai Dredging Co., Ltd. and Shanghai Jiao Tong University, made a stunning appearance. Representing China's intelligent equipment for marine surveying and dredging, it stepped onto the international technology stage, showcasing China's innovative achievements in the field of marine engineering "robots" to the world.

For a long time, channel dredging and nearshore surveying operations have faced industry challenges such as high risks in shallow water areas, high labor intensity for manual boat operations, and limited measurement efficiency under adverse sea conditions. In traditional methods, trailing suction hopper dredgers conducting dredging operations required the deployment of manned boats for underwater terrain resurveying, posing significant safety risks in shallow waters and around islands and reefs, with delays in data acquisition affecting the precision of dredging operations. Addressing the forefront of international technology and the practical needs of the dredging industry, CCCC Shanghai Dredging Co., Ltd., in collaboration with a research team from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, successfully developed the "Hailing 01" trailing suction hopper dredger equipped with a multifunctional unmanned vessel, filling the global technological gap in equipping trailing suction dredgers with unmanned surveying equipment.

The "Hailing 01," based on a trailing suction hopper dredger, adheres to the concept of green and low-carbon development and adopts an all-electric propulsion system. The vessel features a catamaran, deep "V" hull design, enabling it to adapt to the variable wind and wave conditions of nearshore construction environments. It possesses comprehensive surface environmental sensing capabilities, allowing for autonomous obstacle avoidance and navigation. It can independently complete various complex surveying tasks without human intervention, making it a powerful tool for intelligent and unmanned surveying in the dredging industry. The vessel can be used for channel dredging monitoring, island and reef shoreline mapping, hydrographic surveying, hydrological observation, and more. It supports the rapid replacement of various surveying equipment, enabling multi-task payloads and multi-mode operations, with advantages in intelligence, automation, and eco-friendliness. In practical engineering applications, the unmanned vessel can be directly hoisted, deployed, and recovered by the trailing suction hopper dredger, accompanying the dredging fleet to sea without the need for separate transport boats. This significantly improves the timeliness of surveying operations and the quality of data, making it particularly suitable for overseas offshore and "Belt and Road" dredging project sites.

Liu Hong, a Shanghai craftsman, deputy chief engineer of CCCC Shanghai Dredging Co., Ltd., and manager of the Science and Technology Department, explained: "Many surveying points in the dredging industry are located in shallow waters and wave-prone areas. In the past, we relied on personnel to operate boats, which not only involved high labor intensity but also posed safety risks such as capsizing and grounding. The development of 'Hailing 01' aims to use marine robots to address real challenges on the engineering front line and to free people from high-risk offshore working environments."

"Equipping unmanned vessels on trailing suction hopper dredgers is challenging not only because of the vessel itself but also due to the need for ship-machine coordination. Our team, rooted in the front lines of marine engineering, has repeatedly tested and refined key technologies such as mother ship hoisting, offshore deployment and recovery, autonomous navigation in complex sea areas, and multi-source measurement data integration. We have overcome numerous technical challenges to achieve efficient collaborative operations between unmanned vessels and large dredging ships," Liu Hong stated. He emphasized that marine robots cannot remain as laboratory prototypes; they must withstand the test of ocean waves. It is essential to drive technological innovation guided by practical engineering needs, ensuring that research achievements are firmly rooted in construction sites, empowering the transformation and upgrading of China's dredging industry, and providing Chinese marine intelligent equipment solutions for overseas projects.

This year's World Robot Conference, themed "Human-Machine Coexistence, Industry-Demand Integration," showcased a large number of industrial and special robots transitioning from laboratories to the front lines of industry. The appearance of "Hailing 01" at the conference fully demonstrated the deep integration and innovative strength of central enterprises in industry-academia-research collaboration. As the construction of a maritime power continues to advance, marine robotic equipment is accelerating its iteration. In the future, CCCC Shanghai Dredging Co., Ltd. will continue to focus on the development of marine intelligent sensing and unmanned equipment, tackling key "bottleneck" technologies in marine engineering, and promoting more domestically produced intelligent equipment to venture into nearshore and deep-sea areas, contributing technological strength to the high-quality development of China's marine industry.