The shipping industry is crucial for national economic and social development of China. The efficient operation of the shipping safety assurance system is key to the sustainable development of the shipping industry. Promoting the intelligent development of the industry is vital for the optimization and adjustment of the conventional shipping safety assurance system. Focusing on the demand of China for intelligent governance modes for shipping security assurance, this study reviews the current status and development trend of shipping security assurance in advanced port cities in China and abroad. It then clarifies the application directions of digital twins, big data, intelligent ships, unmanned ships, Internet of ships, and other emerging intelligent technologies to shipping security assurance. Using Shanghai as an example, we analyze the overall situation regarding shipping safety assurance of the city, and propose an integrated mode for intelligent governance and its target framework that consists of five layers (infrastructure, information perception, support service, smart service, and smart decision layers) and two aspects (regulations and standards as well as personnel system). Furthermore, several specific engineering and policy suggestions are proposed, including strengthening the overall layout to strengthen the infrastructure for intelligent development, enhancing collaboration among related apartments,formulating policies to support the development of intelligent technologies, and establishing new mechanisms. This study is expected to provide references for the interdisciplinary research on intelligent technologies and shipping safety assurance and for the highquality development of shipping security assurance.