The largest commercial shipbuilder in India Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) Kochi has hosted a plate cutting ceremony for two autonomous electric ferries being built for Norway-based ASKO Maritime AS.
Specifically, ASKO Maritime cur the first steel plate for the vessel No.BY 146 through a video conference and Shri Suresh Babu N V, Director (Operations), CSL cut the first steel plate for ship No. BY 147 at the yard on November 25.
The 67-meter long vessels will initially be delivered as fully-electric transport ferries, powered by a 1,846 kWh capacity battery. After commissioning of autonomous equipment and field trials in Norway, the ships will operate as fully autonomous ferries with the capacity to transport 16 fully loaded standard EU trailers in one go across the fjords each.
CSL Kochi signed contracts for the construction and supply of the two ferries, with an option to build two more identical vessels, on July 15, 2020. The construction project is partially funded by the Norwegian Government with the aim of setting up an emission-free transport of goods across the Oslo fjord.
It should be reminded that Norway is following the path of automation, as the Norwegian Coastal Administration released the first iteration of an automated ship reporting service, marking a milestone for Kongsberg’s SESAME Solution II project.
Concluding, Cochin expects this project to catapult the company into the league of premier shipbuilding yards capable of handling high tech vessel construction offering sustainable solutions.
