After numerous delays and setbacks,  the world’s first autonomous and emission-free all-electric ship has set sail. But for those expecting the cargo would be reflected in the high-tech nature of the vessel, they’ll be disappointed. The containership has been designed and built to haul fertilizer for the Norwegian company Yara.

The 120 TEU ship, Yara Birkeland, will cut emissions and reduce road transport by up to 40,000 truckloads per year while transporting fertilizer products from Yara’s Porsgrunn plant to Norway’s Brevik and Larvik ports, according to Svein Tore Holsether, CEO of Yara.

Designed by maritime technology company Kongsberg and built by VARD, according to gCaptain the project was nearly derailed by the Covid-19 pandemic, which delayed the planned delivery of the 79.5 metre ship by more than a year.

Yara Bireland will begin manned commercial operations from 2022, kicking off a two-year testing period of the technology that will make the ship self-propelled and finally certified as an autonomous, all-electric container ship, said gCaptain.