If you’ve lived on the South African coast, you’ll be aware of just how many cargo ships travel up and down our coastlines. They’ve all got engines and they all make… a bit of a mess. That’s about to change.

Later this year, a ship called the Yara Birkeland will travel from Herøya to Brevik in Norway. This wouldn’t be a big deal, except that the Yara Birkeland will be completely unmanned. It’ll also be completely electric — its creators bill the Birkeland as an emissions-free vessel.

Creepy cargo ship

The Yara Birkeland has been in development for some time. It was supposed to first sail last year but… well, we all know what turned up last year. So 2021 is the craft’s year. The ship itself is a bit of a monster — it’s got a top speed of thirteen knots (about 24km/h), using twin Azipull pod 900kW propulsion systems (and two 700kW tunnel thrusters), a monster 7MWh battery and a whole lot of solar panels to get where it’s going.

Its planned maiden voyage is a fairly unique one — there will be nobody on board, with three remote observation and control posts keeping an eye on the cargo ship as it travels to its destination. Even watching from a distance, it’s bound to be a little creepy watching the ship travel to its destination with absolutely no life on board.

Unmanned ships aren’t exactly unexpected. They’re safer in many ways, since there’s nobody to take hostage or get injured in rough seas, and they’re also cheaper to operate. Plus, most shipping routes are a little boring (when the ocean allows it). Not having staff slowly going nuts is probably good for a company’s bottom line. But don’t get too excited yet — it’ll likely be a while before we see a ghost cargo ship pulling into a local harbour.