First Electric And Self Steering Ship Set To Set Sail In The Norwegian South Sea

The first electric and self-steering ship will launch in Norway. (Photo;

JAKARTA – The world's first electric and self-steering container ship, owned by fertilizer maker Yara, is preparing to navigate Norway's southern coast. These electric ships played their part in the Scandinavian country's plans to clean up its industry.

The Yara Birkeland, the so-called 80-meter-long feeder vessel, will replace the truck haulage between Yara's factory in Porsgrunn in southern Norway and its export port of Brevik, some 14km away by road, starting next year.

It will cut 1,000 tonnes of carbon emissions per year, the equivalent of 40,000 diesel-powered trips by road, and is expected to be fully autonomous within two years.

For Yara, this means reducing CO2 emissions at its plant in Porsgrunn, one of Norway's largest sources of CO2, said Chief Executive, Svein Tore Holsether.

"Now we've taken this technological leap to show it's possible, and I think there are so many routes in the world that it's possible to implement the same type of ship," he told Reuters.

This ship was built by Kongsberg, a company that develops technology from the seabed to outer space. Kongsberg, provides key technologies including sensors and integrations required for remote and autonomous operation.

"It's not about replacing sailors with engines, it's about replacing truck drivers," said Jostein Braaten, ship project manager at Yara, on the ship's bridge, which will be removed when the ship goes full automation.

The ship will load and unload its cargo, recharge its batteries and also sail without human involvement.

Sensors will be able to quickly detect and understand objects such as kayaks in the water so the boat can decide what action to take to avoid hitting anything, Braaten said. "The system must be improved from the manual system," he added.

"We have eliminated the human element, which today is also the cause of many of the accidents we see," Braaten said.

The ship, which will start making two trips per week, has the capacity to ship 120 20-foot containers of fertilizer at a time.

According to Braaten, the ship is powered by a battery provided by Swiss Leclanche that packs 7 megawatt hours through eight battery bays, the equivalent of 100 Tesla cars.