Buildout Continues of Emerging Category of CO2 Carriers for CCS

Carbon carrier vessels for CCS storage — The third vessel for the Norwegian CCS effort Northern Phoenix was named last week as it undergoes commissioning (Northern Lights)

A new segment of shipping, purpose-built CO2 carriers designed to support the emerging efforts at carbon capture and storage (CCS), continues to grow. The first of the commercial operations is beginning, and the sector is driving the development of the ships.

Northern Lights, a partnership between Equinor, Shell, and TotalEnergies was the first to enter the segment, starting commercial operations in 2025. It was designed with an initial capacity of 1.5 million tonnes per year and has already announced plans for expansion. It also became the first cross-border project as it has commercial contracts with Yara in the Netherlands, Ørsted in Denmark, Stockholm Exergi in Sweden, and Inherit in Norway.

Last week, on April 9, the company celebrated the naming of its third ship, the Northern Phoenix, a 7,500 cbm gas carrier, with the third ship under a long-term charter from Bernhard Schulte. The vessels transport the CO2 to the company’s facility in Norway, where it is prepared and pumped offshore into permanent storage in a reservoir 2,600 meters under the seabed. The first vessels are fueled with LNG and incorporate a rotor for wind-assisted propulsion.

In the second phase, Northern Lights reports it will expand capacity to 5 million tonnes of CO2 per year by 2028. To support this expansion, the company in January announced new partnerships with Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (“K” LINE), and MISC Berhad, which ordered one ship and plans a second, and two ships with Mitsui O.S.K. Lines. The first three ships, it said, would each have an increased capacity of 12,000 cbm and are expected to enter service between the second half of 2028 and the first half of 2029.

The next entrant into the sector is completing its final commissioning and will work with Project Greensand’s offshore storage effort, being developed by INEOS Energy in Denmark. The vessel for this project is being developed by Royal Warenborg.

Carbon Destroyer 1 on sea trials is a shuttle carrier to move CO2 directly to a storage program in Denmark (Royal Wagenborg)

Named Carbon Destroyer 1, they took a different approach, building a ship to shuttle between Esbjerg in Denmark and the Nini Fields. It will be a 36-hour cycle. The ship is 150 meters (492 feet) in length and will have a cargo capacity of 5,000 tones of liquified CO2, giving it the capacity to handle approximately 600,000 tonnes of CO2 per year.

The vessel is being called a DP2 CO2 carrier, and it is equipped with dynamic positioning and will directly connect to the storage site. It was also outfitted with unique tanks with consideration for the thermodynamic behavior of liquified CO2.

Carbon Destroyer 1, built by Royal Niestern Sander, recently completed its sea trials off the Dutch coast, where they tested propulsion, maneuverability, the DP2 system’s performance, and the equipment aboard the vessel. It has now arrived in Port Esbjerg for final commissioning. It is expected to enter service later this year.

The Japanese government is also supporting a project that will demonstrate undersea CO2 storage while also seeking to encourage the development of the supply chain. It corresponds with Japan’s goal to achieve net-zero by 2050.

Japan's concept for a CO2 carrier includes gangways to attach to the structure at the storage site (SKSS)

Shin Kurushima Sanoyasu Shipbuilding reported at the end of March that it had received Approval in Principle (AiP) from ClassNK for its concept of a CO2 transport vessel. Their version links the ship with a so-called Socket SPAR at the storage site. The vessel concept is similar to other offshore support vessels as it incorporates large gangways so that the ship’s crew can access the Socket SPAR structure. The ship will link to the structure to pump the CO2 with the injection facility.

The shipyard highlights that the AiP was just for the vessel but notes it is a key part of the development of Japan’s efforts at CCS.

This new segment of shipping is rapidly developing to meet the anticipated demand for CO2 transport and storage. To meet net-zero emissions by 2050, scientists project that roughly 1 gigaton (1 billion tonnes) of per year will need to be captured and transported for storage.