On July 11, 2026, the China Maritime Day Seminar on Development of Port and Shipping Enterprises, themed “Data-Driven Navigation, Intelligence-Leading Future”, was held in Yangzhou, Jiangsu. At the event, China Classification Society (CCS) awarded COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry Co., Ltd. the world’s first General Design Approval (GDA) certificate for a ship digital delivery system. This milestone signifies CCS’s comprehensive expansion of its digital delivery certification system – extending from physical ship products to digital software systems.

Source: CCS

System Highlights and Core Capabilities
The certified Ship Digital Delivery System is a flagship achievement of COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry’s “three-in-one” science and technology innovation strategy. Centered on a 3D digital virtual ship, the system integrates data links across the entire process to construct a dynamic digital representation covering the ship’s entire lifecycle, enabling the simultaneous delivery of both the physical and digital ships. On the operational side, it supports a wide range of vessel management tasks; on the construction side, it assists shipyards in aggregating and analyzing data, enabling continuous design iteration and process optimization. The system is also equipped with an AI-powered multimodal intelligent search module capable of conducting information retrieval and in-depth analysis, significantly enhancing the value of data utilization. Following verification by CCS, the system meets relevant additional class notation requirements and supports integration with the CCS relay model.

A Milestone in CCS–COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry Collaboration
The issuance of this world’s first GDA certificate represents a significant step forward in the collaboration between CCS and COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry, building on the framework agreement signed at the 2025 North Bund Forum – transitioning from strategic cooperation to tangible project delivery. Issued in accordance with CCS’s Guidelines for Digital Delivery of Ships (2025), this certificate validates the compliance and feasibility of the technical roadmap for conceptual digital ships under the digital delivery model. Grounded in the framework of the Digital Ship White Paper, it provides a solid foundation for the long-term development of digital ships.

Driving Digital Transformation in Shipping
CCS will continue to leverage its leadership in ship and industry standards, deepen research and development in digital and intelligent technologies, and enhance the provision of ship survey services. Working closely with partners across the entire industry chain, CCS is committed to advancing the digital transformation of the shipping sector, strengthening the data foundation for digital management throughout the ship lifecycle, and contributing to the green, intelligent, and high-quality development of the shipping industry.