The world’s first fully electric and self-propelled container ship – the Yara Birkeland – has departed for its maiden voyage in the Oslo fjord.
The ship will cut 1,000 mt of CO2 and replace 40,000 trips by diesel-powered trucks a year, said Yara International ASA President and CEO Svein Tore Holsether in a Nov. 19 statement announcing the maiden voyage.
The Yara Birkeland was developed in collaboration with the Kongsberg Group, a global maritime technology company based in Norway, and responsible for the development and delivery of key technologies on the vessel (GM May 12, 2017; Aug. 17, 2018).
The ship was built by Vard, Brevik, Norway, with financial support from the Norwegian government enterprise Enova, and will be in commercial operation from 2022.