“These features are very practical and greatly help reduce the workload of duty officers and improve efficiency.” On March 2nd, at the 59th meeting of the International Association of Marine Aids to Navigation and Lighthouse Authorities (IALA) VTS Committee, a European representative expressed admiration after watching a thematic presentation by the Chinese delegation. This marks the first time China has conducted a thematic presentation on its independently developed core technology since IALA transitioned into an intergovernmental organization.
The International Association of Marine Aids to Navigation and Lighthouse Authorities is an intergovernmental organization dedicated to improving and harmonizing maritime navigation and aids to navigation services worldwide. The achievement presented in this thematic showcase is the “Yangshan VTS Elf,” an intelligent agent for maritime traffic management independently developed by the Yangshan Port Maritime Safety Administration under the leadership of the Shanghai Maritime Safety Administration. It represents a qualitative leap in maritime traffic management from “human monitoring” to “AI pre-control + human verification,” significantly enhancing regulatory efficiency and the timeliness of early warnings.
According to the introduction, the “VTS Elf” can automatically identify abnormal behaviors such as ship collision risks and vessels illegally entering dangerous waters. It can trigger early warnings through algorithmic models before risks materialize, automatically generate standardized safety reminders, and, after manual verification, send them to target vessels with a single click.
A relevant official from the Yangshan Port Maritime Safety Administration stated that the “VTS Elf” project has achieved a qualitative leap in maritime traffic management from “experience-based judgment” to “intelligent analysis and judgment,” and from “passive response” to “active pre-control.”
Based on the successful practice of the “VTS Elf” at Yangshan Port, the Chinese delegation formally submitted the “Proposal for the VTS Committee Work Plan Based on the Yangshan VTS Advanced Decision Support System” to the conference. This proposal suggests that IALA incorporate VTS intelligent development into its 2028–2030 special work plan, revise relevant guidelines, and add functional and performance standards for advanced decision support tools.
All-media reporter Huang Ling, correspondents Zhou Guoxiang, Han Shuai, Liu Jianping
