ASKO barges up and running

News 23 Sep 2022 by WCN Editorial

The pioneering, battery-electric Oslo Fjord barges represent significant modal shift from trucking

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ASKO’s two pioneering, all-electric autonomous barges for Oslo Fjord crossing, to connect the supermarket chains DCs in Moss and Horten, have been officially christened christened MARIT and THERESE.

For a test period of two years, the barges will be operated by a crew of four, including the captain. After that, it is intended to operate them fully autonomously, including berthing. The vessels are managed for ASKO AS by Masterly AS, a joint venture of Kongsberg and Wilhelmsen.

As previously explained to WorldCargo News by ASKO Maritime, ASKO has a driver pool on each side and unaccompanied transport across the fjord will optimise the productivity of the trucks and the drivers. The goal is to operate the trucks in three shifts. “Electric trucks cost a lot more to purchase,” said ASKO Maritime’s Kai Just Olsen, “but they have lower operating costs than diesel trucks, so it is important to make good use of driver hours and mileage.”

With the service in full swing, it should be catering for 150 trailers per day. To optimise turnaround time, the road trucks will disconnect from the trailers when they arrive in the port, reverse on board and hitch up and drive’ out in turn the four trailers in one lane of the vessel, and drive them away.

When this is done, an electric terminal tractor reverses the first four trailers waiting to be loaded into the vacated lane, while other road tractors move on to unload the trailers in the far lane, and so on until all the trailers are exchanged.