The Electric, Driverless Revolution Is About to Hit the High Seas

[CK_John]

YARA Birkeland Source: YARA

It’s not just in Google laboratories that the revolution in electric, driverless transportation is gathering pace: a Norwegian shipping company is aiming to be able to deliver cargoes by sea on unmanned vessels from 2020.

The fully electric, zero emissions YARA Birkeland will set sail next year in Europe, Oslo-based Yara International ASA said a statement Saturday. By 2019 it will be able to work by remote control and at the start of the next decade it will be able to deliver on a fully automated basis. The container ship, being built by Kongsberg Gruppen ASA, will transport fertilizer.
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A breakthrough by Yara could have far-reaching implications for the maritime industry, which has historically consumed the dirtiest fuels available from refineries. On land, automakers are boosting their efforts to develop driverless vehicles alongside electrification. Ford Motor Co., Bayerische Motoren Werke and Volkswagen AG have said they aim to develop driverless cars by the early 2020s, while Google’s sister company Alphabet Inc. is testing technology already.

Yara uses more than 100 diesel truck journeys a day to haul products from its Porsgrunn plant, in Norway, to the domestic ports of Brevik and Larvik from where it ships to customers around the world, said Svein Tore Holsether, the chief executive officer of Yara.

Read More:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-06-12/the-electric-driverless-revolution-is-about-to-hit-high-seas

[NightWatcher]

1. I don't see it happening. The seas are dangerous and require professional mariners.

This isn't a tiny electrical car going down the road. If a cargo ship screw up and sinks, how many millions in cargo are lost forever? If the ship goes dark and starts drifting, how much damage could that do to shipping channels and our ports?

I just don't see it. I've had the pleasure to work on many ship in the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico and its not for the weak or the timid (or automated).

[NCTraveler]

3. As far as the automation aspect....

Many vessels of all kinds already have the technology. There will be the need for a captain with a lot of experience on the seas as well as a crew.

[CK_John]

4. The seas around Norway will be a good testing area.

[berni_mccoy]

12. I tend to agree. Think about pirating... these ships would be sitting ducks.

[NCTraveler]

2. K&R nt

[citood]

5. I've never been on a large ship but...

...it seems that many on the crew do jobs that have nothing to do with navigation. Won't they still be needed.

[NightWatcher]

6. Things go wrong on ships. You need crews to respond to emergencies

I've been on ships that have lost steerage, lost power, lost GPS and gyroscope (that leaves you blind and dumb in the water), had electrical fires, and had accidents with other vessels (personal and commercial). Storms and weird shit are common place.

[CK_John]

7. An all electric engine could run by itself and these large ships have

automated loading and unloading of containers already.

These ships can land a chopper if need. So I don't see any problems with control by satellite.

[citood]

8. I read the story to find out more about the propulsion...

...and found nothing. All electric seems like a big stretch for moving cargo. I'd have to see some parameters before I fully believed the only motor on a ship is electric.

[CK_John]

9. Subs have been all electric for 70 years.

[citood]

10. No. They. Haven't.

They rely on on-board fuel to recharge the batteries. Absolutely nothing like what is being claimed in this article.

[hedda_foil]

11. Not unless they figure out a way to make them hijack proof.

[Igel]

14. Why risk people.

Hack it. Send it elsewhere. Or crash it into a Porto

[petronius]

13. They're not talking about a deep ocean freighter in this case, more like a barge

It seems to be a 70 meter long vessel that will travel between three ports a total of 37 nautical miles apart, in fairly protected coastal waters.

https://www.km.kongsberg.com/ks/web/nokbg0240.nsf/AllWeb/4B8113B707A50A4FC125811D00407045?OpenDocument