World’s first autonomous electric ship to replace 40,000 HGV journeys

A new autonomous electric ship due for launch next year is being flagged as an environmental game-changer for global maritime transport.

"Every day, more than 100 diesel truck journeys are needed to transport products from YARA's Porsgrunn plant to ports in Brevik and Larvik where we ship products to customers around the world. With this new autonomous battery-driven container vessel we move transport from road to sea and thereby reduce noise and dust emissions, improve the safety of local roads, and reduce NOx and CO2 emissions," says Svein Tore Holsether, president of the fertilizer company YARA.

Over 50,000 ships ply the world's oceans to carry an estimated 90 per cent of everything we buy, sell and consume. However, shipping remains the only sector of the European economy not covered by the EU’s existing emissions reduction target, which is surprising given that emissions from international maritime transport have grown by 70% since 1990.

There is little doubt the Paris climate agreement’s target of limiting global warming by less than 2°C will be near impossible without curbing shipping’s greenhouse gas emissions – not least because a European Parliament study found that shipping will be responsible for 17% of total emissions in 2050 if left unregulated.

The environmental impact of shipping includes significant emissions of CO2 and sulphur, sound pollution that is detrimental to marine life and contamination of the seas through the dumping of bilge and ballast water. The electric ship cannot arrive soon enough.

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