We've followed the development of this vessel from the beginning, a few links below.
From Splash 24/7:
It was meant to be one of the most eagerly anticipated vessel launches of the year, but ship spotters might not have to wait too long to catch a glimpse of the Yara Birkeland in action with a late 2021 launch now on the cards for the world’s first battery-powered autonomous vessel.
Norwegian fertiliser firm Yara International, which ordered the pioneering 120 teu vessel in 2017, paused development of the ship in May this year, citing the pandemic at the time. However, it appears the real reason for the project being put on hold were the complexities of getting autonomous landside operations in place.
We underestimated the complexity
In an interview this week with Norwegian engineering magazine Teknisk Ukeblad, Yara boss Svein Tore Holsether hinted the 80 m long vessel, developed in association with Kongsberg Maritime, could start sailing next year. The hull was completed at the Vard Braila Shipyard in Romania, and towed to Vard Brattvaag Shipyard in Norway for outfitting, which will be completed this month.
Getting the landside operations in place had proven trickier than anticipated from order receipts, production, packing, transport to the ship, and loading and unloading containers....
....MORE
Shipping: Autonomous Ships Continues To Be A Huge Growth Opportunity
Yara's autonomous electric container ship project, the Birkeland is on hiatus due to covid-19 with 2021 the new target date.
May 2020
A Look At Yara's Autonomous Electric Container Ship
Following up on May 14's "Development of First Fully Autonomous Ship, Yara Birkeland, Put on Hold Due To Coronavirus" we don't want to leave the impression that the history-making vessel is not going to happen, it has happened, at least to the fitting-out stage.
From Yara's Yara Birkeland press kit:
The hull of the Yara Birkeland vessel was launched to sea in Romania in February 2020 and is expected to arrive at the Norwegian shipyard in May where she will be fitted with various control- and navigation systems and undergo testing before delivery to Yara. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the changed global outlook, Yara has decided to pause further development of the vessel and will assess next steps together with its partners....MORE
"Norwegian Autonomous Ship Project Secures Major Funding"
The idea of autonomous ships on the high seas has one potentially big issue.Shipping: He May Not Have Received His Nobel Prizes But The World's First Fully Electric Autonomous Container Ship Will Be Called the Birkeland
Should there be a problem with either propulsion or navigation, the cost of getting a crew on location to do repairs could be quite high.
That is one of the reasons initial trials will be attempted in littoral and coastal zones....
Norwegian Government to Chip In $17 Million to Develop the First Electric Autonomous Cargo Ship
"Norway Takes Lead in Race to Build Autonomous Cargo Ships"
Shipping: The Future of Inland Shipping May Be Yara's Autonomous Electric 'Birkeland'
And many more on Professor Birkeland, Yara, autonomous ships etc. Use the search blog box if interested.
And some of the competition for ships:
Infrastructure: "Norway’s $47 Billion Coastal Highway"
.....With many of the fjords along the route being too wide or too deep for conventional infrastructure to cross, innovative new solutions are being investigated by the Norwegian Public Roads Administration.
Rogfast is the first in a series of crossings that will link the E39, connecting Stavanger and Haugesund via a 27 kilometre, 16 mile under sea tunnel.
This structure will reach depths of up to 390 metres below sea level, making it the deepest as well as the longest undersea road tunnel in the world.
The Rogfast project will in fact consist of two tunnels connected every 250 metres with emergency exits. Each tunnel will have a lay-by at 500 metre intervals, along with telephone and surveillance cameras along the route......MUCH MORE
