First ever autonomous container ship could set sail without crew in 2020

The world’s first zero-emissions autonomous container ship could be leaving port with no crew on board in just three years’ time.

Norwegian technology group Kongsberg plans to launch the fully electric Yara Birkeland next year. The battery-powered ship will be used by chemicals group Yara to transport fertiliser from its Porsgrunn factory to nearby Brevik and Larvik, about 13 miles by road. The company says the ship will allow it to replace 40,000 diesel truck journeys per year, reducing emissions of carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxides.

The Birkeland will first operate with a crew, followed by remote operation in 2019 and it is expected to be capable of full autonomy by 2020. Kongsberg president Geir Håøy said it will be “a giant step forward towards increased seaborne transportation”.

Although there have been many smaller and non-commercial concepts, experts say the ship will be a world-first. “There are a lot of challenges” for autonomous ships, said Ørnulf Jan Rødseth, senior scientist at researchers Sintef Ocean, to Professional Engineering. He said maintenance is one of the biggest challenges for large ships, although electric power means much of the work traditionally required is no longer needed. The batteries are also bulky and take up more room than traditional fuel, but he said the short distances and slow speeds expected for the Birkeland means this will not be an issue.

The chance for stormy weather to damage or sink the ship is also very low, Rødseth said, with the planned routes avoiding any big waves. “It is a fairly big ship… it will not be that susceptible to 1m or 2m waves which is what you have in sheltered waters. The plan is to extend the route to a nearby port and that is a short passage in uncharted waters, so that will probably mean you will have to put some weather restrictions on it. But it is not small, it will be quite operable in relatively heavy seas.”

Computer-generated image of the Yara Birkeland (Credit: Yara)

Autonomous operations will become more difficult with increased journey length and distance from shore, said Wilko Bruhn from the Fraunhofer Centre for Maritime Logistics in Hamburg to PE. “Creating an engine and propulsion system for an autonomous ship requires high reliability… to make sure that unattended machinery failure does not lead to negative consequences. Similarly, automation of navigation tasks is demanding, especially in the area of object detection and identification,” he said. Sophisticated “sensor fusion” technology is also needed to be sure of the ships position, movement and characteristics, making sure it can navigate safely.

Kongsberg’s manager of strategic projects Peter Due told PE the main challenges facing the Yara Birkeland are now legislative rather than technological. “National legislation is not ready for it yet,” he said. “There is some red tape before we get everything through.”

However, he predicted close work with national and local government will lead to the ship launching successfully, and he claimed the autonomous ship industry has a bright future. “In the near future, 30 % of new builds will be either autonomous or ‘smart-ships’, manned ships with automated or autonomous operations,” he said.