On October 16, 2026, the International Symposium on Technical Standards for Navigation of MASS was held. The symposium was themed “Technical Standards: Key Enabler for Global R&D, Application and Operational Safety of MASS.” It was hosted by the International Association of Institutes of Navigation (IAIN) and the China Institute of Navigation (CIN).

Global shipping is becoming increasingly intelligent, and maritime autonomous surface ships (MASS) are moving from the trial demonstration stage toward commercial application. As IMO MASS-related regulatory instruments gradually take effect, the industry’s demand for technical terminology standards has become increasingly urgent. In response to industry demand, IAIN launched the development of terminology standards for autonomous navigation technology, and the symposium focused on the formulation of this standard.

At the meeting, Zhang Duo, an invited expert of the IAIN Technical Committee, released the Terminology for Ship Autonomous Navigation Technology. The document unifies the definitions of core industry concepts, consolidates the linguistic foundation for subsequent R&D and technical exchange, and represents a key step by IAIN in promoting the standardization and internationalization of MASS.

Release of the”Terminology for Ship Autonomous Navigation Technology”

In implementing automation technologies in shipping, research institutions, ship enterprises, classification societies, and regulatory authorities in different countries have differing understandings of emerging technical concepts; developers, operators, and regulators interpret the same terms differently, which creates communication barriers and affects technical documentation, system interconnection, test verification, and compliance assessment. The industry urgently needs a unified terminology system covering R&D, engineering practice, and industrial collaboration to eliminate conceptual ambiguity, improve collaboration efficiency, and build global consensus. IAIN therefore led the research and drafting of this standard, with multiple member institutions participating.

Zhang Baochen

Zhang Baochen, President of IAIN, delivered a keynote speech titled “Technical Standards Are Key to Advancing the R&D, Application and Safe Operation of MASS Worldwide.” He noted that global MASS technology is iterating rapidly and that full-scale demonstrations and commercial trial operations are constantly emerging, but the insufficient supply of technical standards is becoming a prominent bottleneck constraining industrial development. He highlighted three standards needs: first, the qualitative collision-avoidance principles in the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea, such as “early, substantial, wide and clear,” still need to be further translated into technical criteria applicable to autonomous navigation algorithms; second, maritime perception equipment lacks unified performance indicators for complex marine environments; third, autonomous navigation systems still lack generally accepted quantitative evaluation standards for benchmarking.

Sascha Pristrom

Sascha Pristrom, Head of Marine Technology and Global Standards at IMO , introduced the regulatory framework of the non-mandatory MASS Code in a speech titled “Autonomous Ships: Paving the Way Through International Cooperation.” According to the presentation, the Code follows a goal-based and technology-neutral approach, with human oversight as the core regulatory principle, and IMO plans to promote the entry into force of a mandatory version in 2032. The current experience-building period is expected to provide a practical basis for the subsequent refinement of the Code, while the mandatory version will be advanced in accordance with relevant IMO plans.

Li Yanqing, Vice President and Secretary-General of the China Association of the National Shipbuilding Industry (CANSI) and Chair of ISO/TC 8 (Ships and Marine Technology), said in a speech titled “Progress and Outlook of ISO Standards for Smart Shipping” that the Smart Shipping Subcommittee of ISO/TC 8 will break down the MASS Code chapter by chapter and transform it into testable and certifiable international standards, promoting the linkage between regulatory rules and full-scale ship inspection and certification.

Nanami Ishikawa

Nanami Ishikawa, Captain and Senior Researcher at MTI Co., Ltd., delivered a speech titled “Steering MASS Toward Commercial Reality in Japan.” She shared the practical achievements of the Future Design Alliance for Fully Autonomous Ships . According to her, four autonomous ships in Japan have entered commercial operation, according to the presentation, and Japan is advancing the development of an international standard on a General System Architecture for Autonomous Ships, exploring an open and generic system architecture for autonomous ships.

Torleif H. Bryne, Associate Professor at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), referred to projects such as Yara Birkeland and pointed out that highly reliable multi-source perception, redundant communication links, and minimum risk conditions that ensure ship safety under abnormal circumstances are important guarantees for the commercial operation of MASS.

He Ci

He Ci, Senior Engineer at the China Classification Society Shanghai Rules and Research Institute, delivered a speech titled “Classification Society Rule Requirements and Practices for Autonomous Ships.” He reviewed progress by ABS, CCS, DNV, KR and ClassNK in autonomous ship rules. The relevant classification societies are continuously improving technical rules for autonomous navigation and remote-control functions and gradually aligning rule requirements with the IMO MASS Code, providing technical support for rule implementation, ship inspection and certification, and commercial application of autonomous ships.

Shen Hao, Deputy Director-General of the Maritime Safety Administration of the People’s Republic of China (MSA), introduced China’s progress in smart shipping in a speech titled “Policies and Practices for the Development of Smart Shipping in China.” He said that China has gradually established a development layout in which policy, pilot demonstrations, and technical standards are advanced in a coordinated manner, has deeply participated in the formulation of IMO MASS rules, and has steadily advanced full-scale ship pilot projects. He called on all parties worldwide to further strengthen multilateral coordination, use the experience-building period to share full-scale ship operation data, bridge the gap between regulatory rules and industrial practice, and jointly build a safe and inclusive global governance system for maritime autonomous surface ships.

In the panel discussion, experts from IAIN, IMO, and the maritime sector were invited to focus on the latest frontier developments in autonomous navigation technical standards and discussed issues related to accelerating the development of autonomous navigation technology.

Existing rules have established a top-level regulatory framework for global MASS development, but supporting technical details still need further improvement. In the future, all parties should focus on testing and verification, remote control, personnel training, and other areas to strengthen the development of relevant standards, and use actual operational data to support the continuous optimization of rules and standards.

In parallel, IAIN held its 2026 second officers’ meeting and the first meeting of its Technical Committee in a combined online and offline format.