The first crewless electric cargo ship will sail this year

Autonomous shipping will not be limited to trucks and planes. According to a source, Yara International expects to sail Norway's first autonomous, fully electric cargo ship by the end of 2021. The Yara Birkeland vessel will sail from Herøya to Brevik with just three remote control centers.

Yara developed the concept back in 2017 and planned to set sail in 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic delayed the trip. It's not the first crewless vessel of any type to set sail (the Finnish ferry set sail in 2018), but it is the first all-electric model.

It's a slow vessel, with a top speed of 13 knots thanks to two 900kW engines (container ships typically sail at 16 to 25 knots), and it's safe to say that it will take a long time to charge the giant 7MWh battery. However, Yara believes the environmental benefits are worth it.

The company estimates that Yara Birkeland will replace about 40,000 truck trips a year, significantly reducing CO2 and nitrous oxide emissions in a country that already relies heavily on hydroelectric power. The ship could also ease traffic congestion on land, not to mention keep people out of harm's way (albeit at the cost of possible job losses).

It may be a long time before we see autonomous container ships sailing to other countries. Even if distance is not an issue, docks are - a self-propelled vessel will be harder to navigate in busy ports like Durban or Shanghai.

There are also legal issues. Different countries have their own maritime regulations. As with self-driving cars, there is the issue of liability. Who will be at fault if an autonomous vessel runs aground and causes an environmental disaster due to chemicals in the water?

While it is quite easy to imagine a day when autonomous electric vessels will become commonplace, that day is likely to be a long time away.

Source: cnn

Illustration: yara