Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the changed global outlook, the development of the world's first autonomous and electric container vessel Yara Birkeland is put on hold, Norwegian company Yara announced.

        Yara has decided to pause further development of the vessel and will assess next steps together with its partners, the company stated. The hull of the Yara Birkeland vessel was launched to sea in Romania in February 2020. The ship is expected to arrive at the Norwegian shipyard in May where it will be fitted with various control and navigation systems and undergo testing before delivery to Yara.

       Yara and technology company Kongsberg teamed up in 2017 with the ambition to build the world's first autonomous and zero-emission container vessel.

        Replacing 40,000 truck journeys a year, Yara Birkeland seeks to reduce NOx and CO2 emissions and improve road safety in a densely populated urban area in Norway.

(Adapted from: https://safety4sea.com)