The Yara Birkeland, the world’s first net-zero, battery-powered autonomous container ship, was delivered to Norwegian fertilizer company Yara Norge AS in November 2020. It’s currently in the Norwegian port of Horten, where it’s undergoing further preparations for autonomous operation and a late 2021 launch.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fwx5DJSO4sc
On May 31, 2021, Hellenic Shipping News reported:
Yara advised that, at this moment, their priority is for the Yara Birkeland to begin operating with zero-emission transport of containers. The new port construction inside the factory at Herøya is completed with only the delivery and commissioning of the port crane remaining. Once this is completed in the autumn, the plan is for the Yara Birkeland to start operations and to transport approximately 40-60% of Yara’s container volume by the end of this year. Work is also ongoing to prepare the Yara Birkeland for the first phase of sailing with reduced manning. Once that has been achieved, the ship will be developed to reach the desired level of unmanned operation during the next two years.
Yara Birkeland specs
Yara provides the Birkeland’s specifications (and I’ve provided some explanations in italics for landlubbers):
Main particulars:
Length overall (LOA): 80 m
Beam (width): 15 m
Depth: 12 m
Draft (full): 6.3 m (Draft is the distance between the waterline and the deepest point of the ship)
Eco speed: 6-7 knots
Max speed: 13 knots
Capacity:
Cargo capacity: 120 TEU (TEU is an abbreviation for 20-foot equivalent unit, an inexact unit of cargo capacity)
Deadweight: 3,200 mt (The deadweight is the difference between the displacement and the mass of empty vessel [lightweight] at any given draft. It is a measure of a ship’s ability to carry various items)
Propulsion:
Azipull pods: 2 x 900 kW
Tunnel thrusters: 2 x 700 kW (provide side force to the ship)
Batteries: Capacity 7 MWh (that’s equivalent to around 100 Tesla Model 3s)
Proximity sensors:
Radar
Lidar
AIS
Camera
IR camera
Connectivity and communication:
Maritime Broadband Radio
Satellite Communications
GSM
Kongsberg Maritime explains:
Loading and discharging will be done automatically using electric cranes and equipment. The ship will not have ballast tanks, but will use the battery pack as permanent ballast.
The ship will also be equipped with an automatic mooring system – berthing and unberthing will be done without human intervention, and will not require special implementations dock-side.
To ensure safety, three centers with different operational profile are planned to handle all aspects of operation.
Via:
https://electrek.co/2021/06/08/meet-...ontainer-ship/