Yara Birkeland
Yara and technology company KONGSBERG teamed up with the ambition to build the world's first autonomous and zero-emission container vessel.
With the aim of reducing diesel-powered truck haulage by 40,000 journeys a year, Yara Birkeland will reduce NOx (Nitrogen oxide) and CO2 emissions, improve road safety, reduce road dust formation and reduce traffic noise while transporting fertilizer from Yara's factory in Porsgrunn, Norway to the export port in Brevik, Norway.
On the technical side, KONGSBERG is responsible for the development and delivery of all essential technologies at Yara Birkeland. This applies to the sensors and integration required for remote and autonomous operations, as well as electrical propulsion, battery and control systems.
Yara Birkeland will be put into operation in 2022. Initially it will start a two-year trial to become autonomous and certified as an autonomous, fully electric container vessel. Before it is put into operation, Yara Birkeland will take its first and only trip to Oslo, Norway for partners to experience the ship first-hand and learn more about the process behind this great achievement.
Photo credits: Knut Brevik Andersen, Wilhelmsen Ship Service
On November 18, 2021, Yara Birkeland took its first and only trip to Oslo before it is put into operation.
After departing Horten in the morning, Yara Birkeland arrived in Oslo in the early evening of November 18th for partners to experience the ship first-hand and learn more about the process behind this great achievement.
You can experience some of the journey from Horten to Oslo in this video.
Vessel estimated key figures and facts
120 TEU (Twenty-foot Equivalent Units) Open Top Container Ship - fully battery powered solution. Prepared for autonomous and unmanned operation
Main particulars
- LOA 80 m
- Beam 15 m
Depth 12 m
- Draught (full) 6 m
- Eco speed 6-7 knots
- Max speed 15 knots
Capacity
- Cargo capacity 120 TEU
- Deadweight 3,200 tons
Propulsion
- Azipull pods 2 x 900 kW
- Tunnel thrusters 2 x 700 kW
Batteries
- Capacity 6.8 MWh
Download images
Visit our Image library to download Yara Birkeland pictures in high-resolution.
Relevant links
Corporate releases
- Yara to start operating the world's first fully emission-free container ship (November 19, 2021)
- Yara selects Norwegian shipbuilder VARD for zero-emission vessel Yara Birkeland (August 15, 2018)
- Yara and Kalmar to develop world's first fully-digitalized and zero emission cargo solution for Yara Birkeland (May 24, 2018)
- Yara Birkeland design revealed and test model demonstrated for the first time (September 29, 2017)
- YARA and KONGSBERG enter into partnership to build world's first autonomous and zero emissions ship (May 10, 2017)
News and features
- Yara Birkeland wins Norwegian Industry Climate Prize (in Norwegian - November 07, 2018)
- The first ever zero emission, autonomous ship (March 14, 2018)
- Enova to support the building of Yara Birkeland (September 28, 2017)
