Crewless Cargo Ship with Zero Emissions Launches
A Norwegian company has created what it calls the world’s first zero-emission, autonomous cargo ship. If all goes to plan, the ship will make its first journey between two Norwegian towns before the end of the year, with no crew onboard. Instead, its movements will be monitored from three onshore data control centers.
Rochelle Beighton — World’s first crewless, zero emissions cargo ship will set sail in Norway
That quote from this recent article describes the worlds first fully electric container ship that is also autonomous. The shipping industry currently accounts for between 2.5% and 3% of global greenhouse gases emissions, according to the International Maritime Organization. This zero emissions cargo ship begins the long process of addressing that problem. It is envisioned that it will replace 40,000 truck journeys a year. The crewless feature of this emerging innovation makes the ship more cost effective to operate. Almost every scenario we look at tells the same transition story. In this case, the transition involves humans loading and unloading the ship initially, but eventually transitioning to all operations using autonomous technology.
This scenario is not without its challenges. From navigating traffic in large ports, to maintenance, to legal issues, work remains. But the path is clear. This video does a good job of explaining both the challenges and the opportunities.
Originally published at http://frankdiana.net on August 25, 2021.
