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NORWAY PLANS TO launch the first autonomous and fully electric cargo ship next year that the project’s backers said Wednesday will save 40,000 truck journeys per year.
Fertiliser company Yara International has teamed up with industrial group Kongsberg to build the Yara Birkeland, which will haul fertilisers between three ports in southern Norway.
With a range of more than 65 nautical miles, the ship will be able to haul roughly 100 containers at a speed of 12 to 15 knots, according to the project’s director, Bjorn Tore Orvik.
Initially the ship will be manned, but remote operation is expected to begin in 2019 and fully autonomous operation in 2020, the companies said.
“Every day, more than 100 diesel truck journeys are needed to transport products from Yara’s Porsgrunn plant to ports in Brevik and Larvik where we ship products to customers around the world,” Yara’s chief executive Svein Tore Holsether said in a statement.
“With this new autonomous battery-driven container vessel we move transport from road to sea and thereby reduce noise and dust emissions, improve the safety of local roads, and reduce NOx and CO2 emissions,” he added.
The switch is expected to reduce CO2 emissions by 678 tonnes per year, according to Yara, with the electricity used to charge the ship’s batteries coming almost exclusively from hydro plants.
While Norway is a major oil producer it has been a leader in the adoption of electric cars thanks to generous tax incentives and has experimented with electric-powered ferries to cross its famous fjords.
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A lot of jobs lost there
@Tom Collins: like bus conductors, fariers, milk men, ticket collectors (many types), usherettes etc.
What about all the new jobs in Amazon,Google,Facebook,Robotics, Space technology, new medicines… all the while the population of the earth is exploding.
Norway wisely sells her oil to foreigners and invests the money on behalf of the Norwegian People. Think they have around 300 billion in their savings fund.
Those whose jobs are lost to this development need not fear the future in Norway.
@John O’Driscoll: yes second richest country in Europe due to its oil and fishing reserves. Shame we couldn’t take a leaf out of their books and we have richer waters, instead of giving it away for next to nothing
@John O’Driscoll: not as simple as that though. Not all so perfect, with taxes and the cost of things. However there are some good points to their system.
@Kieran Stafford: well that’s not true, we don’t have richer waters, whether in relation to reserves of oil and gas or fishing. So that’s a no then.
@Kieran Stafford: Sweden, Norway and Denmark have positive National Debts. Ours is c€200 billion, negative.
@Kieran Stafford: over 300 million dollars has been spent searching for oil in Irish waters. Not one drop of commercial oil has been found.
Not one drop.
There is none.
@David Murphey: at what price per barrel does the oil that HAS been found in Irish waters become commercially viable? If it’s 100 bucks a barrel to make shale gas viable what is it to make Irish oil resources?
@Brown Boots: and what of their taxes? They have a social contract paid for by them that guarantees a civilised standard of living for all, including the elderly and other vulnerable groups. And what of ours? I’d say taking income taxes stealths levies paycuts PRSI and all the indirects into our account we probably lose about 80% of our income to taxation here and for what? A 200 billion euro bankster liability hanged about our necks and our grandchildren’s that we can’t even pay the 9 billion a year interest on without borrowing more to do so.
We are bankrupt. Once Ireland had sovereignty, one of the richest fisheries in Europe; one of the largest submarine territories also; huge reserves of energy; and the ECSC/EEC/EC/EU had a bunch of treaties and paper money to wave in our faces and distract us so that when we looked again the Gall had our sovereignty, fisheries, maritime resources; legislative powers, indefeasible destinies etc. and we had a bunch of treaties handing it all over and 200 billion IOUs that will be taken out of our national hide in resource extraction and further rapine of sovereignty in taxation and geopolitical / military affairs.
I’d say Norway, with the same advantages, took the wiser course on balance. Oh but they weren’t oppressed for 800 years so that they didn’t even know how to wipe their own nevermind. The past is another country, a sovereign, resource rich one. The present is a PRovinCe once again, a province once again….and a Potemkin one.
@John O’Driscoll: it’s a lot cheaper than that to make shale viable and its getting cheaper as technology grows. Having said that a drilling campaign taking place off the south west coast this summer, taking advantage of the lower day rates for drill ships. A fraction of the rate of two years ago. But with no supply base in Ireland and the damage caused by the whole shell to sea episode, investment in irelands oil and gas resources is further down many people’s priority lists, despite increasing interest in latest licensing.
Thanks Brown Boots, Thought the economic threshold of fracking and its associated massive environmental damage was around 100/barrel. agree the Shell to Sea protests have shown the world that the Irish government and Elites being willing to sell out their own People so are not to be trusted by anyone else with a titther of sense.
Meanwhile Burke enjoys retirement in Swords on the proceeds of his corruption.
Geldof was right. Banana Republic. Be better off growing them than trying to exploit our own energy resources, at least it reduces the risk of being invaded and bombed by Uncle Sam to make corners of our bogs forever Exxon, Chevron and Shell…
But then I Remember the Chiquita/Fyffes banana wars of South America and think even those aren’t safe…
More jobs to be lost, just so ceo’s and shareholders can maximise profits. Not too long now until cars, ships planes trains are all unmanned.
@Joe Travers:
Good
@Joe Travers: okay. Let’s stop the world evolving for shipping jobs shall we.
@Joe Travers: think about the benefits in terms of the environment. 40,000 less trucks on the road and powered off electricity. Yes it will maximise profits, But when it’s good for the environment too and doesnt use fossil fuels you can’t argue with it.
@Daniel Carson: Ah yes, the environmentally friendly option… How big are those lithium batteries gonna be and where will they come from, magical non mined lithium from a well managed source!
@Joe Travers: You say that like it’s a bad thing.
@Hupthejaysus: what will generate the electricity and where is the battery material coming from? It’s a sizeable vessel, it’ll need a pretty big system to power it. So Where’s it all coming from… Fresh air? Recycled paper? The power of good will?
@Brown Boots: “it’ll need a pretty big system to power it. So Where’s it all coming from..”
Power’s almost exclusively hydro plants says the article.
@Thomas McGuire: so they are carrying a hydro system on board. I assuming it’s using some form of battery being charged from these. This is what I hate about people saying oh it’s not using fossil fuels etc… Have a look at the mining industry and the damage that’s been done to countries in Africa and Asia in search of greener technology.
@Brown Boots: “Greener” than extracting, refining, transporting, fueling, refueling…
@Joe Travers: What’s your job? I bet it’s not in a sewing production line. I’m sure you are aware that there were riots when they brought in sewing machines for fear of tailors and seamstresses losing their jobs.
Perhaps you would rather we were still living in caves.
As long as it is manned with eyes on the bridge and an override then it might be OK. If you ever been on a small boat at night and had a near miss with a container ship coming past with no one on the bridge you’ll know how dangerous it could be for other users of the water.
@Patrick J. O’Rourke: It won’t be manned. Nothing new really – drones are unmaned, as are some submarines and cars.
The IMO haven’t made any laws to allow for unmanned vessels (and don’t plan to make any) and I can’t see it working. Radar has too many flaws and misses targets.
Would anyone fly on an unmanned plane?
@Robert Conneely: They’re flown everyday from Arizona…remotely…
@Robert Conneely: Number one cause of plane crashes is pilot error, so yeah, I’d trust in software and sensors just fine.
Yes Frank they are but they are still piloted by people.
That’ll be fun for pirates searching for hours around the ship to find the crew. Best hide and seek game ever.
@Scundered: it would require an exceptionally thick hijacker to steal a ship that has to be plugged in every 65 miles.
@Scundered: ‘I’m the captain now’.. ‘computer says no’
Ships already self-dock and manoeuvre through incredibly tight straits and channels autonomously using satellites, to conduct fests of seamanship….er…seaPCship…that “human glue” would never be able to do unassisted or even at all.
The technology to run unmanned ships had been available since the late 1960ies. two big problems though, in many parts of the world pirates would have a field day and many countries will not allow unmanned ship use their territorial waters.
@Kevin Barry: onboard defences can be automated too. Passive and active. There are sonic weapons used today against pirates and the entire deck and railings could be electrified at a command.
@Kevin Barry:
Luckily, there isn’t that much of a problem with pirates in the Norwegian Sea in comparison to the Somali Coast or the Malacca Strait!
Who will be the captain now?
Captain Spock
In photo there is big chimney stacks so is the real story ship crew being phased out.
@tom:
Eh??? The first line of the article….
“NORWAY PLANS TO launch the first autonomous and fully electric cargo ship next year ”
The thing isn’t launched yet so it’s highly unlikely the ship in the photo id the one in question.
@P.J. Nolan: gone over you head . Stick the word electric in front of something and its like magic eco green mumbo jumbo.
If they are planning to build a ship there would be lots of sketches drawing artist impression but you might be right old stock photo of a boat and mention of the magic word electric probably sold the idea
Move to olso I think best of everything in Norway
One man hgvs replaced by factories making batteries, & power generating technology!
The challenge is to get these new jobs, & educate the new generation to bring these developments on at home, rather than in other continents.
And then will be hacked by N. Korea?
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