Zero emissions and, soon, zero crew: the first 100% electric and autonomous cargo ship in the world was launched this Friday in Norway.
By conveying up to 120 containers of fertilizer by sea from a factory in Porsgrunn (south-east) to the port of Brevik, located about ten kilometers away, the "Yara Birkeland" will thus avoid nearly 40,000 journeys. pollutants by truck per year, saving 678 tonnes of CO2.
With a length of 80 meters with a transport capacity of 3,200 tonnes of goods, the Yara Birkeland will begin a two-year test campaign to gradually learn how to do without the crew. On board, the traditional engine room has been replaced by eight compartments lined with batteries which give the vessel a capacity of 6.8 MWh. “The equivalent of a hundred Tesla,” notes Jostein Braaten, project manager at Yara. “Many incidents that occur on ships are due to human error, for example fatigue. Autonomous operations guarantee safe travel, ”he continues. On the other hand, the very first autonomous freighter will not cover long distances: it will ensure its daily trip of 7.5 nautical miles to reach coastal factories in the region.
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For Tuva Flagstad-Andersen, regional director of the maritime certification body, the generalization of 100% electric at sea on short trips is also essential.
"It is very important, it makes it possible to deliver land goods by sea and therefore to drastically reduce CO2 emissions", she explains.
But it is a different kettle of fish for trade over very long distances, where 100% electric is not very suitable.
In order to become green, transoceanic ships will have to rely more on other technological solutions such as e-methanol or hydrogen.
Responsible for nearly 3% of total human-made emissions, the global maritime sector, across all activities, has increased its emissions in the space of six years.
According to the latest figures available from the International Maritime Organization (IMO), they went from 962 million tonnes of greenhouse gases in 2012 to more than 1 billion tonnes in 2018.
