Yara Birkeland the world’s first electric container ship has departed for its maiden voyage in the Oslo fjord. Now begins a two-year testing period of the technology that will make the ship self-propelled, and finally certified as an autonomous, all-electric container ship.

“We are proud to be able to showcase the world’s first fully electric and self-propelled container ship. It will cut 1,000 tonnes of CO2and replace 40,000 trips by diesel-powered trucks a year,” said Svein Tore Holsether, CEO of Yara.

The Yara Birkeland, which has already received wide coverage in the press, was developed in collaboration with the Kongsberg Group. The ship was built by VARD with financial support from Enova, and will be in commercial operation from 2022.