China Writes the Dictionary for Ship Data

On 1 October a new Chinese national standard came into force. Its number is GB/T 47313-2026 and its subject is how to classify, grade and label the data on an intelligent ship.

What that means in plain words. Every modern ship produces data from hundreds of pieces of equipment, and each maker names and stores it in its own way. That is why joining two systems on board is slow and expensive. This standard sets one common way to sort ship data into types, to give each item a code that other systems can recognise, and to grade it by how much harm it would do if it leaked or was changed. The grade then decides how strongly it must be protected. It covers the whole life of the ship, from design and building to operation, including equipment connections and onboard software.

Who wrote it. Research institutes of China State Shipbuilding Corporation, COSCO Shipping, China Merchants Industry, a transport ministry institute, two maritime universities, and other yards and port groups. In other words, the people who build most of the world's ships, and some of the people who own them.

Why this answers a question we asked. Three weeks ago China Merchants launched an operating system for ships, and we asked who owns the digital layer inside a Chinese-built ship. A standard like this is the other half of that plan. First you agree the language. Then you sell the system that speaks it.

The limits. It is voluntary. There is no list of yards or equipment makers that have promised to follow it, and no ship named as built to it. A standard on paper changes nothing until it shows up in a building contract.

And the question the standard does not answer. As described, it covers how data is named and how sensitive it is. Naming data does not settle who owns it. For an owner ordering in China, that is still the point to settle. Put three lines in the building contract: who owns the data, where it is stored, and your right to export all of it in a format another supplier can read. If the yard says it follows the new standard, good. Ask which grade your engine and position data fall into, and who decided. [Splash247 · AiatSea, 20 September]

This story is part of the Maritime AI Digest of 11 October 2026.