The pilot project of the Digital Waterway programme on the 369km stretch of the Yangtze River between Liuhekou, Taicang and Nanjing was officially completed on 20 September, according to China News Services.

The project has made it possible to provide digital mapping of the riverbed, real-time management of vessels, buoys and beacons, automated piloting, and digital information dissemination after a two-year trial run that was used to fine tune the technology. Director of Nanjing Waterway Bureau Mr Cao Chen said that the project on the busiest stretch of the Yangtze will significantly reduce the number of accidents. Vessels can make full use of the technology as long as they are AIS (Automatic Identification System) -equipped .