China's first smart unmanned research ship, Zhuhaiyun, was officially delivered for use on Thursday in Zhuhai, south China's Guangdong Province.

The vessel has both autonomous navigation and remote control capabilities. Its power, propulsion, intelligence, positioning and support systems have all been developed domestically.

The vessel, 88.5 meters long and 14 meters wide with a design displacement of about 2,100 tonnes, can be equipped with a variety of unmanned instruments for diverse tasks, including marine surveying and mapping, observation, inspection and survey sampling.

Chen Dake, an academician at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said the ship sailed autonomously for 12 hours straight in its first test, successfully avoiding obstacles and planning pathways.

"It has totally met with our design goals," said Chen.