World’s first electric containership completes maiden voyage
November 29, 2021 Maritime Safety News
(OSLO, Norway) — The world’s first electric and self-propelled containership, Yara Birkeland, has completed its maiden voyage in the Oslo fjord. On Friday, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store was given a tour of the vessel by the CEO of Yara, Svein Tore Holsether.
“We are proud to be able to showcase the world’s first fully electric and self-propelled containership. It will cut 1,000 tonnes of CO2and replace 40,000 trips by diesel-powered trucks a year,” said Holsether.
Yara Birkeland, which has already received wide coverage in Norwegian and international media, has been 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.
The 262-foot Yara Birkeland transits off Brevik, Norway, in December 2020. The all-electric containership, built by Vard for the Norwegian fertilizer company Yara International, is scheduled to gradually shift from manned operations and become autonomous. Kongsberg photo
“We have been looking forward to this day for a long time,” said Holsether. “The Yara Birkeland will transport mineral fertilizer between Porsgrunn and Brevik and will contribute to significant emission cuts during transport. This an excellent example of green transition in practice, and we hope this ship will be the start of a new type of emission-free containerships. There are a lot of places in the world with congested roads that will benefit from a high-tech solution like this.”
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