A bold Norwegian endeavour encompassing everything expected of artificial intelligence that would also have heralded a major first for the ocean freight industry has been put on ice because of Covid-19.
The project involved developing the world’s first autonomous, zero-emission container vessel, the Yara Birkeland, whose hull left the Romanian shipping yard of Vard Braila on the Black Sea in February.
It was due to arrive at Vard Brevik shipyard south of Olso this month, to be fitted with the necessary tech. Thereafter it would have gone through a two-year testing period aimed at making it completely autonomous.
However, because of unforeseen events surrounding the coronavirus pandemic, the project’s intended finalisation has been indefinitely postponed.
An initiative of developers Yara and technology company Kongsberg, the Birkeland is expected to reduce harmful greenhouse gases and improve road safety in dense European regions because of 40 000 truck journeys it is expected to replace.
