Kochi:
The Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL), the largest shipbuilding and maintenance facility in the country, is building two autonomous electric vessels with zero carbon emission for a Norwegian company. The production of the vessels began with a plate-cutting ceremony organised virtually at the CSL here on Wednesday, a CSL statement said.
The two vessels are being built for ASKO Maritime AS, Norway. CSL said it signed contracts for construction and supply of the two autonomous electric ferries for the Norwegian company with an option to build two more identical vessels in July 15 this year.
This project is an ambitious one in Norway partially funded by the Norwegian government aimed at emission-free transport of goods across the Oslo fjords. Once in operation, the vessels would create a new benchmark for the merchant shipping world in the field of autonomous vessels with zero carbon emission, it said. It further said the 67-metre-long vessels would initially be delivered as a full-electric transport ferry powered by 1846 kWh capacity battery.
After the commissioning of autonomous equipment and field trials in Norway, the vessel would operate as a fully autonomous ferry of ASKO that can transport 16 fully loaded standard EU trailers in one-go across the fjords..
