Yara Birkeland is the world’s first electric autonomous container vessel.

Yara Birkeland measures is 262 feet in length and 3,200 dwt. It’s powered by 20 batteries with a capacity of 6.8 MWh. Propulsion is provided by two Azipull 900 kW pods along with two 700 kW side thrusters providing an operating speed of 6 to 7 knots. It was named for Kristian Birkeland a Norwegian scientist who developed the process of using nitrogen to make fertilizer, was supported by the Norwegian government. Enova SF, owned by the Ministry of Climate and Environment, provided approximately $14 million to support the project.

It will be traveling on a route approximately 7 nautical miles transporting fertilizer from the Yara factory to the port of Brevik for domestic and international shipment. The ship replaces upwards of 40,000 diesel truck trips per year.

The vessel will operate with a full crew while undergoing further testing of its systems and equipment in the first year of operation. it will be fully autonomous both for its navigation and the loading and unloading of 120 containers of fertilizer in the end of the testing

Yara Birkeland was officially entered service today in Norway after nearly six months of testing and trials along with the outfitting of its systems. The vessel begins a two-year trial period to become certified during which it is anticipated that it will gradually transition into autonomous navigation and operations. The celebration took place on the wharf in Brevik located in Norway country , attended by approximately 800 guests. There were speeches by His Royal Highness Crown Prince Haakon Magnus of Norway and Norway’s Minister of Petroleum and Energy Terje Aasland.

The idea of this vessel began in 2017 with the goal of building a vessel that could demonstrate carbon-free operations. The construction order was placed in 2018 with the Vard shipyard in Brattvåg, and beacause of delays during construction so the vessel was delivered in November 2020. After outfitting of its systems, Yara Birkeland arrived near Yara’s Porsgrunn plant that manufacturers fertilizer in homeport. As mentioned in November 2021 and in December made a demonstration voyage for a preview in Oslo.

Captain Thomas Fevang the command of the ship during the first phase of the trials said “It’s equipped with cameras, inside and out, including a night vision camera, and with the radar, the AI systems onboard detect, identify, and reacts to the obstacles”