Dalian Shipbuilding, a subsidiary of China State Shipbuilding Corporation, reported the successful sea trial for the first commercial CO2 transport vessel. Known as Northern Pioneer, the 8,000 dwt vessel will be operated by Japan’s “K Line” (Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha) for Norway’s Northern Lights project.
The ship, which measures approximately 426 feet in length (130 meters), was independently designed and built by Dalian Shipyard. It is equipped with two full-pressure C-type liquid cargo tanks made of special materials, which can withstand low temperatures of -35°C and transport a total of 7,500 cubic meters of liquid carbon dioxide.
Construction began in November 2022 with the first steel cuts and the keel for the Northern Pioneer and her first sister ship Northern Pathfinder were laid in April 2023. The ships were floated out a year later with Dalian now reporting the trials. The ship is reported to have exceeded the speed requirements of its owners by more than 0.3 knots. CSSC calculates that daily fuel consumption will be saved by nearly 1 ton due to the design and the inclusion of a single wind rotor.
After the ship is officially delivered, it will be used for carbon dioxide transport in Europe. Northern Lights, which is a joint venture between Equinor, Shell, and TotalEnergies, signed its first offtake and storage agreement in November 2023 with Yara International. It calls for the capture and storage of 800,000 tonnes of CO2 from the ammonia production in Sluiskil in the Netherlands starting in 2025.
The vessels will transport the CO2 from the capture locations in Northern Europe to the company’s CO2 receiving terminal in the municipality of Øygarden in western Norway. It will then be transferred by pipeline to the storage vaults below the seabed in the North Sea.
Speaking in June 2024, Northern Lights Managing Director Tim Heijn said, “Northern Lights is ready to inject 1.5 million tonnes CO2 this year and is planning to expand to the capacity with an additional 3.5 million tonnes for the next development phase.”
Work on the company’s third vessel is also underway in China. Last December, under an agreement with Bernard Schulte, a fourth vessel was also ordered for delivery in 2026.
The company says the Norwegian Continental Shelf has the highest theoretical storage capacity in Europe, and Norway will play an important part in offering the necessary CO2 storage to reach European objectives for carbon capture and storage as part of the climate solution. In June, the European Commission approved the award of €131 million ($145 million) to Northern Lights which the company said would be used to expand its storage capabilities. It was one of four CO2 projects to receive EU grants.
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