First small unmanned cargo ship in pipeline

A Chinese high-tech company is building the world's first small-sized unmanned cargo ship, demonstrating that China is taking the lead in the unmanned surface vehicle industry.

On Wednesday, the Shenzhen-based Oceanalpha Co Ltd signed a memorandum of understanding with Wuhan University of Technology, the Chinese Classification Society and the Zhuhai municipal government to start a project that will result in the small-sized unmanned surface vehicle, or USV.

"It will be the first USV that is entirely domestically developed with Chinese technology and guided by the Beidou navigation system," said Sun Feng, vice-president of CCS.