YARA BIRKELAND

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The world's first fully-electric autonomous cargo ship departed for its maiden voyage

The 'Yara Birkeland', the world's first fully-electric autonomous cargo ship, departed for its maiden voyage from Horten to Oslo on Nov 18, 2021, offering a glimpse at what’s set to be the greener, cleaner, and humanless future of sea travel. A system of sensors and computers allows the ship to be commanded autonomously or via remote control, removing the need for an onboard crew. On top of this, the vessel is powered by electrical propulsion and battery meaning it pumps out zero missions. The first voyage was only a demo trip, attended by the Norwegian Prime Minister and the Minister of Fisheries and Ocean Policy. However, the company aims to have the ship in commercial operation from the next few years, transporting mineral fertilizer from Yara's Norweigian factory in Porsgrunn to the port in Brevik. This is only a short journey, just over 20 minutes by truck, but the company believes it will substantially slash their pollution output, cutting 1,000 tonnes of CO2 and replace 40,000 trips by diesel-powered trucks a year, giving an excellent example of green transition in practice. Report with photo and video: https://www.iflscience.com/technology/autonomous-ghost-cargo-ship-sets-off-on-maiden-voyage/