MV Yampu, described as the world’s first battery-powered self-unloading bulk carrier, has commenced operations in Australia, with vessel owner and operator CSL and cement manufacturer Adbri marking the occasion at a ceremony on 27 August.

The 125-metre vessel, with a capacity of 11,900 deadweight tonnes, will transport limestone from Adbri’s Klein Point quarry on South Australia’s Yorke Peninsula to the company’s Birkenhead cement manufacturing facility in Adelaide. According to CSL, the vessel is expected to carry approximately 2.7 million tonnes of limestone per year.

The vessel’s battery system is recharged while docked at the Birkenhead facility, allowing MV Yampu to operate on battery power around 40% of the time. This arrangement is expected to reduce diesel consumption by more than half a million litres per year compared with the vessel it replaces, and MV Yampu is designed to operate on 100% battery power in the future.

Louis Martel, CSL’s chief executive officer, remarked: “MV Yampu represents a significant step forward in our decarbonisation journey and demonstrates how practical innovation can deliver real environmental benefits while meeting the demands of commercial operations. Every improvement in cargo handling, every enhancement to onboard systems, and every operational innovation has been implemented with one goal in mind: helping our crews perform their work safely, efficiently and sustainably.”

Adbri chief executive officer Paul Headd stated: “For the teams at Klein Point and Birkenhead, this is much more than a new vessel entering service. It’s an investment in their future and the future of manufacturing in South Australia. Every day, the limestone carried by MV Yampu will help produce the cement used to build homes, hospitals, schools, roads and major infrastructure projects across South Australia and Victoria.”

Headd added: “The Yampu strengthens our supply chain, supports local jobs and demonstrates that reducing emissions and maintaining a strong Australian manufacturing sector can go hand in hand.”

Limestone from the Klein Point quarry has been used in South Australian cement manufacturing for over a century. Adbri’s Birkenhead facility produces cement supplied for construction projects across South Australia and Victoria.