Construction Industry News
The world's first all-electric autonomous cargo ship was unveiled in Norway, in an effort to reduce the environmental footprint of the maritime industry.
By shipping about 120 containers of fertilizer from a factory in the southeastern town of Porsgrunn to the port of Brevik, about 12 km away, the much-segregated Yara Birkeland revealed to media on Friday will eliminate the need for about 40,000 truck trips a year. it is now fueled by polluting diesel.
Chief executive of Norwegian fertilizer giant Yara, Svein Tore Holsether, told media there have been issues and delays.
The vessel with a deadweight of 80 m and 3,200 tons will soon begin two years of work trials, during which it will be refined to study to maneuver independently. The wheelhouse could disappear altogether in three, four or five years, Holsether said, once the ship completes its 7.5-mile journeys under its own power using sensors.
Many incidents on ships are due to human error, for example due to fatigue, project manager Jostein Braaten told the media from the probably destroyed bridge. Operating autonomously can facilitate a safe journey.
While the distance covered by the Yara Birkeland may be small, it will encounter many barriers. It will have to navigate a narrow fjord and pass under two bridges while handling currents and heavy traffic from pleasure craft, kayaks and merchant ships before docking in one of Norway's busiest ports.
The maritime sector, which is responsible for about 3% of all human-made emissions, aims to reduce its emissions by 40% by 2030 and by 50% by 2050. Despite this, the sector has grown in recent years.
