Onboard Carbon Capture Achieves Milestone with First Class Notation from LR

Onboard carbon capture recently passed a key milestone with the issuance of the first class notation coming from Lloyd’s Register for the technology that could play a key role in the future of shipping, especially for in-service vessels. Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is an established technology onshore but onboard for ships (OCCS) is just gaining traction as a viable short- to mid-term pathway to achieving IMO emission reduction targets.

The first-of-its-kind notation was placed on the Pacific Cobalt, a 49,700 dwt mid-range chemical carrier owned by Eastern Pacific Shipping. Registered in Liberia, the vessel which was built in 2020, is fueled by conventional fossil fuels and was retrofitted at the beginning of 2023 as a demonstration and test. The installation is a prefabricated Onboard Carbon Capture & Storage (OCCS) system supplied by Value Maritime.

Cyril Ducau, Chief Executive Officer of Eastern Pacific Shipping called the retrofit of the Pacific Cobalt with the OCCS system, “an important milestone in EPS’s sustainable shipping journey.” Value Maritime, which developed the Filtree OCCS system, reports it can remove and capture up to 40 percent of CO2 from exhaust gases. The emissions are stored onboard in storage tanks and later transferred to shore for processing.

LR explains that the Emission Abatement Carbon Capture & Storage (EACCS) (Amine, HFO) class notation provides assurance that any safety risks associated with the OCCS installation have been mitigated and that the solution is effective and reliable. Rule requirements for the design, construction, and installation survey of OCCS are included in the LR class notation EACSS and will provide further assurances to encourage ship owners to adopt this new technology.

“This class notation for an OCCS is the first for Lloyd’s Register and the first for a vessel of this size,” explained Nick Brown, CEO of Lloyd’s Register. “Eastern Pacific Shipping is a pioneer in onboard CCS and this installation demonstrates its commitment to reducing emissions in its operations in line with IMO ambitions. This class notation will further support OCCS installations on ships giving industry confidence in the technology’s ability to support shipping’s decarbonization goals.”

Requirements associated with the new class notation LR explains address the safety risks that may present to the vessel, covering aspects such as materials, structure, containment, piping, refrigeration plant, electrical, control, safety systems, vessel integration, and manufacturing. Requirements associated with the READY descriptive note cover the preparation of a vessel for the future installation and integration of an EACCS, such as structures, layout, interfacing, materials, and electrical and safety systems.

“The issuance of the first LR class notation for onboard carbon capture is huge for our industry,” said Jurriaan Guljé, Operations Director for Value Maritime. “The combined commitment and engineering expertise of EPS, LR, and Value Maritime have made onboard carbon capture a reality, paving the way for OCCS technology to significantly contribute to sustainable maritime operations.”

Value Maritime highlights that the Filtree System combines a SOx exhaust cleaning system with CO2 capture. The system flushes 99.9 percent of the sulfur oxide and 99 percent of particulate matter from the exhaust gas using seawater. From there the remaining gas, mainly CO2, enters the OCCS system where, as it rises, it comes into contact with the chemical compound, amine.

The low temperature of the exhaust gas enables part of the CO2 to bind to the amine particles. Although still a gas, the compound behaves like a liquid and is pumped into a storage tank. The CO2 is not liquefied or stored under pressure, and the CO2-saturated amine is pumped out of the vessel during a port call and replaced with clean amine.

LR awarded Approval in Principle (AiP) to Value Maritime’s Filtree System in September 2022. The 2020-built Pacific Cobalt is the first of three EPS MR tankers that will be fitted with the CCS system. Equipment surveys are currently underway on the other two vessels.