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LLM4STP: a large language model-driven multi-feature fusion method for ship trajectory prediction

LLM4STP: a large language model-driven multi-feature fusion method for ship trajectory prediction
LLM4STP: a large language model-driven multi-feature fusion method for ship trajectory prediction

Ship trajectory prediction (STP) is a critical research focus for enhancing maritime traffic situational awareness and supporting navigational decision-making in intelligent transportation systems. The accuracy and robustness of prediction models significantly affect maritime safety and shipping efficiency. Despite advances driven by Automatic Identification System (AIS) data and deep learning techniques, key challenges remain unresolved, including dynamic multi-ship interaction modelling in complex marine environments, multi-scale temporal dependency reasoning, trajectory uncertainty quantification, and effective integration of maritime domain knowledge. Existing methods based on Large Language Models (LLMs) improve generalisation through pre-trained knowledge but fall short in real-time interaction topology modelling, geospatial semantic representation, and uncertainty estimation. To address these limitations, this paper proposes LLM4STP, a novel LLM-driven multi-feature fusion method for STP. LLM4STP establishes a new paradigm by deeply integrating LLMs with maritime domain knowledge to collaboratively predict ship trajectories. The model features an adaptive graph-masked Transformer to dynamically capture ship interaction topologies, hierarchical temporal reasoning to jointly model local manoeuvring behaviours and macroscopic navigational intent, and an innovative fusion of Gaussian probability distribution heatmaps with GeoHash-based geospatial encoding to quantify trajectory uncertainty while preserving semantic continuity.

GeoHash encoding, Hierarchical temporal modeling, Large language model, Ship trajectory prediction, Situational awareness, Trajectory uncertainty
1366-5545
Jiao, Hang
af70e929-ff8d-4020-92a5-34c55f6aba7c
Gong, Jincheng
385f1a7d-439b-4603-aef5-9b86a28b3965
Li, Huanhuan
5e806b21-10a7-465c-9db3-32e466ae42f1
Lam, Jasmine Siu Lee
8781a433-1624-44fb-90e9-934cf87083bc
Shu, Yaqing
78c0ef18-c191-4112-9a00-22d4b7f5c303
Wang, Jin
357e45c1-6bfb-453c-b5f6-853d939f47ed
Yang, Zaili
82d4eebc-4532-4343-8555-35169e79bb6d
Jiao, Hang
af70e929-ff8d-4020-92a5-34c55f6aba7c
Gong, Jincheng
385f1a7d-439b-4603-aef5-9b86a28b3965
Li, Huanhuan
5e806b21-10a7-465c-9db3-32e466ae42f1
Lam, Jasmine Siu Lee
8781a433-1624-44fb-90e9-934cf87083bc
Shu, Yaqing
78c0ef18-c191-4112-9a00-22d4b7f5c303
Wang, Jin
357e45c1-6bfb-453c-b5f6-853d939f47ed
Yang, Zaili
82d4eebc-4532-4343-8555-35169e79bb6d

Jiao, Hang, Gong, Jincheng, Li, Huanhuan, Lam, Jasmine Siu Lee, Shu, Yaqing, Wang, Jin and Yang, Zaili (2025) LLM4STP: a large language model-driven multi-feature fusion method for ship trajectory prediction. Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, 207, [104599]. (doi:10.1016/j.tre.2025.104599).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Ship trajectory prediction (STP) is a critical research focus for enhancing maritime traffic situational awareness and supporting navigational decision-making in intelligent transportation systems. The accuracy and robustness of prediction models significantly affect maritime safety and shipping efficiency. Despite advances driven by Automatic Identification System (AIS) data and deep learning techniques, key challenges remain unresolved, including dynamic multi-ship interaction modelling in complex marine environments, multi-scale temporal dependency reasoning, trajectory uncertainty quantification, and effective integration of maritime domain knowledge. Existing methods based on Large Language Models (LLMs) improve generalisation through pre-trained knowledge but fall short in real-time interaction topology modelling, geospatial semantic representation, and uncertainty estimation. To address these limitations, this paper proposes LLM4STP, a novel LLM-driven multi-feature fusion method for STP. LLM4STP establishes a new paradigm by deeply integrating LLMs with maritime domain knowledge to collaboratively predict ship trajectories. The model features an adaptive graph-masked Transformer to dynamically capture ship interaction topologies, hierarchical temporal reasoning to jointly model local manoeuvring behaviours and macroscopic navigational intent, and an innovative fusion of Gaussian probability distribution heatmaps with GeoHash-based geospatial encoding to quantify trajectory uncertainty while preserving semantic continuity.

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Accepted/In Press date: 5 December 2025
e-pub ahead of print date: 22 December 2025
Published date: 22 December 2025
Keywords: GeoHash encoding, Hierarchical temporal modeling, Large language model, Ship trajectory prediction, Situational awareness, Trajectory uncertainty

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 509010
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/509010
ISSN: 1366-5545
PURE UUID: c529a855-4ac3-4d4f-b2da-24086c43c625
ORCID for Huanhuan Li: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-4293-4763

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Date deposited: 10 Feb 2026 17:34
Last modified: 14 Feb 2026 03:17

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Contributors

Author: Hang Jiao
Author: Jincheng Gong
Author: Huanhuan Li ORCID iD
Author: Jasmine Siu Lee Lam
Author: Yaqing Shu
Author: Jin Wang
Author: Zaili Yang

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