Norwegian companies Yara and Kongsberg have entered into a partnership to build a fully electric, autonomous ship.
The ship, named the Yara Birkeland, will begin operations in 2018 with a small crew still on-board. It will be tested for automated journeys in 2019, to be capable of undertaking an unmanned voyage by 2020.
Kongsberg is responsible for the sensors and automated systems, as well as the electric drive, battery and propulsion systems. The vessel will sail within 12 nautical miles from the coast, between 3 ports in southern Norway: an area covered by the Norwegian Coastal Administrations’ vehicle tracking system (VTS).
