The first China Naval Architect Forum was held by the Chinese Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers (CSNAME) in Zhoushan on Sept 18. 

The forum has attracted over 170 attendees from CSNAME's member institutes, naval architecture institutes and universities. 

The forum is themed on the innovative, intelligent and green development of the naval architecture industry.

Several experts made keynote speeches on the development of intelligent, smart navigation, operations technologies for deep-water pipe-laying vessels and research into key technologies for ship-type development.

Intelligent ship design is the developmental trend of the global ship market and Zhoushan's ship building industry must integrate intelligent ship designs into intelligent manufacturing in order to achieve sustainable development, said Chen Yingqiu, a chief expert of CSNAME.

Chen also suggested that the city should take measures in different areas -- including hiring and funds -- to drive the intelligentization of the ship building process and products. 

In order to promote the intelligentization of the shipbuilding industry, the city's municipal government could start with top-level designs to improve the transport efficiency of ships, drive economic benefit growth and make companies the main source of innovation, according to Li Jianming, deputy director of an institute in China Shipbuilding Industry Co.