The keel-laying of two autonomous zero emission electric vessels built by Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) for the Norwegian ASKO Maritime AS was held on Saturday.
P. Rajeeve, Minister of Industries, Coir and Law, was the chief guest. The vessels are considered to be the first of their kind in the field of merchant shipping.
Mr. Rajeeve lauded the green energy philosophy followed for the vessels and said that the Kerala government was determined to encourage businesses focusing on environmental, social and governance (ESG) aspects.
“This is an important project for Cochin Shipyard. Though the vessel is a small one, the impact the vessel could make in the field of autonomous and electric vessel segment is huge,” said Madhu S. Nair, Chairman and Managing Director, CSL.
It is an ambitious project partially funded by the Norwegian government aimed at emission-free transport of goods across the Oslo fjords. Once in operation, the vessels will create a new benchmark for the merchant shipping world in the field of autonomous vessels with zero carbon emission.
The 67-m-long vessels will 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, it will operate as a fully autonomous ferry of ASKO that can transport 16 fully loaded standard EU trailers in one go across the fjords. The vessels are designed by Naval Dynamics, Norway, using Kongsberg Maritime Systems, with detailed engineering carried out by CSL.
