MV Yara Birkeland is an autonomous 120 TEU container ship[4] carrying fertilizer between ports at Herøya and Brevik in Norway.[3] The Yara Birkeland was designed to serve as a proof of concept for a fully autonomous ship capable of global travel and with multiple functions from industrial site operations to port operations.
| History | |
|---|---|
| Name | Yara Birkeland |
| Namesake | |
| Owner | Yara International |
| Route | Herøya–Brevik, 7 NM (13 km) |
| Ordered | 2017 |
| Builder | Marin Teknik |
| Cost | $25m |
| In service | 2022 |
| Identification | |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Autonomous cargo ship |
| Tonnage | 3,200 DWT |
| Length | Over 80 metres (260 ft) |
| Beam | 15 metres (49 ft) |
| Draught | 5 metres (16 ft) |
| Depth | 12 metres (39 ft) |
| Installed power | Batteries 6,800 kWh, 6,600 V[2] |
| Propulsion | Electric motors driving 2 azimuth pods (2x 900 kW) and 2 tunnel thrusters (2x 700 kW)[2] |
| Speed |
|
| Capacity | 120 TEU |
| Crew | manned[3] |
| Notes | First autonomous commercial ship in the world. |
Construction
editYara Birkeland is 80 metres (260 ft) long, with a beam of 14.8 metres (49 ft) and a depth of 12 metres (39 ft). It has a draught of 6 metres (20 ft). Electric motors driving two azimuth pods and two tunnel thrusters. Batteries rated at 6.7 MWh[5] power the electric motors, giving it an optimal speed of 6 knots (11 km/h) and a maximum speed of 10 knots (19 km/h). It has a capacity of 120 TEU.[6] Costing $25million[7] (NOK250 million)[3] it is designed by Marin Teknikk, with navigation equipment by Kongsberg Maritime.[6] The Norwegian Government gave a grant of NOK133.6 million towards the construction of the ship, about a third of the total cost, in September 2017.[8]
Operation
editYara Birkeland is named after its owners Yara International and its founder, Norwegian scientist Kristian Birkeland.[9] Yara Birkeland sails between Herøya and Brevik (~7 nautical miles (13 km))[6] carrying chemicals and fertiliser, and is intended to reduce road truck traffic by 40,000 loads per year.[5] In late November, 2021, the ship sailed to Oslo, where it was toured by the Prime Minister of Norway, Jonas Gahr Støre, on Friday, November 19, 2021.[10][11] As of August 2021, remote operation was intended to start in late 2021, though regulatory obstacles may still remained ahead of its intended start of commercial operations in 2022.[12][4][11] The ship was christened on April 29, 2022 in Brevik where 500 local students and Crown Prince Haakon was attending.[13] Regulations require crew on board for two years before being considered for remote control.[3]
Legacy
editIn 2019, the Yara Birkeland was a finalist in the annual Nor-Shipping Next Generation Ship competition.[14][15]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "YARA BIRKELAND (Container Ship)". MarineTraffic. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
- ^ a b "Yara Birkeland | Yara International". 12 November 2021.
- ^ a b c d Bosch, Hieronymus (29 August 2022). "COLUMN | Semi-autonomous navigation: Yara Birkeland, Suzaku, Njord Forseti and Orca AI [Offshore Accounts]". Baird Maritime. Archived from the original on 29 August 2022.
In 2021 it commenced operations with a full crew on board
- ^ a b Deshays, Pierre-Henry (19 November 2021). "First electric autonomous cargo ship launched in Norway". AFP. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
- ^ a b "Yara Birkeland electric container ship starts commercial operations". New Power Progress. 9 December 2021.
- ^ a b c "Autonomous ship project, key facts about YARA Birkeland". Kongsberg Maritime. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
- ^ Morris, David Z. (22 July 2017). "World's First Autonomous Ship to Launch in 2018". Fortune. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
- ^ "Norway Provides Grant for Construction of Yara Birkeland". World Maritime News. 29 September 2017. Retrieved 29 September 2017.
- ^ "The first ever zero emission, autonomous ship". Yara International. 9 May 2017. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
- ^ "Yara Birkeland straks klar til drift". mtlogistikk.no. 20 November 2021. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
- ^ a b "Yara to start operating the world's first fully emission-free container ship". kongsberg.com. 19 November 2021. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
- ^ Lorenz, Jonna (25 August 2021). "Zero-emission, crewless cargo ship to launch by year-end". UPI. Retrieved 25 August 2021.
- ^ "Crown Prince and youths christen world's first emission-free container ship | Yara International". 29 April 2022.
- ^ "Yara Birkeland fights it out with innovative tankers for Nor-Shipping's Next Generation Ship Award". Hellenic Shipping News. Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide. 30 Apr 2019. Retrieved 29 Sep 2019.
- ^ "Gagarin Prospect Wins Nor-Shipping 2019 Next Generation Award". maritime-executive.com. The Maritime Executive, LLC. 4 Jun 2019. Retrieved 29 Sep 2019.
External links
edit- Kongsberg video about Yara Birkeland
- BBC video, August 2022