The Norwegian autonomous electric cargo ship "Yara Birkelan" will make the first flight between the two cities by the end of the year. According to CNN, there will be no crew on board. The vessel's movement will be monitored by three ground-based data control centers.
In 2017, Yara International and Kongsberg Maritime signed an agreement on the development and construction of an autonomous cargo ship "Yara Birkelan". It is fully electric and can carry 103 containers with a maximum speed of 13 knots. The vessel is powered by seven megawatt batteries. Its length is 80 meters, and its width is 15 meters.
"Yara Birkelan" was supposed to be the first autonomous cargo in the world, but it was overtaken by the Chinese "Jindouyun 0 Hao", which was tested in 2019. It left the port on Dong-ao Island in Zhuhai and arrived at Pier No. 1 of the Hong Kong — Zhuhai — Macau Bridge.
The Norwegian autonomous vessel will transport fertilizers between three ports in the south of Norway. This will help Yara International, which is engaged in the production and supply of fertilizers, to speed up their transportation and abandon about 40 thousand truck flights a year.
"Yara Birkelan" will go on a flight before the end of this year. It will transport its first container from Jereja to Brevik. There will be no crew on board the ship, and three ground data control centers will monitor its movements. According to the head of the Yara International plant in Porsgrunn, John Sletten, at first, people will perform the loading, unloading and mooring operations of the Yara Birkelan. Then these processes will also be automated with the help of autonomous cranes and container loaders.
Along with autonomous electric cargo ships, unmanned electric trucks are also being developed today. For example, these are created by the American company Tesla. They should make transportation on the roads more environmentally friendly.
Vasilisa Chernyavtseva