REVIEW article
Front. Mar. Sci.
Sec. Marine Affairs and Policy
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmars.2025.1624596
A Bibliometric Analysis of the Development of Autonomous Ships in Inland Waterway Transport
Provisionally accepted
- 1Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
- 2University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom
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Inland waterway transport (IWT) plays a critical role in global logistics, offering large-capacity, long-distance transport at a lower cost. Recently, the advent of autonomous ships has promised to revolutionize efficiency and sustainability within the shipping industry. While existing research predominantly targets maritime settings, the distinct challenges of inland waterways such as fluctuating water depths, varying river currents, and confined channels demand tailored technological solutions. This study provides a thorough bibliometric analysis of autonomous ships in inland waterway transport, based on 163 publications from the Web of Science (WoS) core collection. This study identifies key technological milestones in this field and highlights the research gaps of adapting maritime autonomous ship technologies to inland waterways. The pressing need for customized solutions is also discussed. By reviewing the current landscape, this study contributes to the field as a beneficial reference for researchers, industry professionals, and policymakers, promoting the development of autonomous ship technology in inland waterways.Waterway transport, characterized by its large capacity, long distance and low cost, plays a pivotal role in the global transportation sector (Homburger et al, 2025;Li et al, 2022;Yuan et al, 2024;Zhou et al, 2021a). Globally, the development level of inland waterway shipping reflects a country or regions's transport infrastructure and economic strength. For example, as of the end of 2023, China's inland waterways had a navigable length of 128,200 kilometers. According to the China Statistical Yearbook 2024, the inland waterway freight transport turnover reached 2.07 trillion ton-kilometers in 2023, representing 8.96% of China's total freight transport turnover. This significant development in inland shipping reduces logistics costs, promotes regional economic flow, and generates substantial economic benefits.
Keywords: autonomous ship1, inland waterway transport2, Bibliometric analysis3, VOSviewer4, evolutionary trends5
Received: 07 May 2025; Accepted: 30 Jun 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Xue, Li, Song, Yang, Feng and Hu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Jie Xue, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
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