Cargotec's MacGregor and Kongsberg Maritime have reached an agreement that MacGregor will provide an automatic mooring system for the world's first unmanned container ship, the Yara Birkeland. . The system will enable mooring without human intervention to support efficient operation of all-electric zero-emission vessels. The order has been credited to the Cargotec Group's fourth quarter of 2018 and is scheduled to be delivered in the second half of 2019.
“For Kongsberg, working with world-class partners is critical, so we are pleased to have appointed MacGregor to provide an automatic mooring system for the Yara Birkeland container ship,” said CommScope Marine Global Sales and Marketing Executive President Bård Bjørløw said.
“We work closely with KONGSBERG to identify the most suitable mooring solution and we are proud to have developed an innovative all-electric system that not only enhances safety, but is also more environmentally friendly than traditional mooring operations. ," said Høye Høyesen, vice president of advanced offshore engineering at MacGregor.
Kalmar, a Cargotec group, has previously announced that it will provide an automatic loading and unloading solution between the fertilizer production facility and the terminal for the Yara Birkeland.
“Yara Birkeland” will reduce up to 40,000 trucks per year in a densely populated area of Norway, thereby reducing emissions and improving road safety. The container ship transports fertilizer from the Porsgrunn plant in Yara via inland waterways to the deep-water ports in Larvik and Brevik for a total of 31 nautical miles.