Northern Lights announces launch of first two LNG-powered CO2 carriers
China's Dalian Shipbuilding Offshore Co. (DSIC) has officially launched the first two LNG-powered CO2 carriers for the Northern Lights joint venture, the joint venture announced on April 3 via a LinkedIn post.
“Our two first ships have officially been launched and successfully transferred from the dry dock to the harbour!” the Northern Lights joint venture said.
The Northern Lights joint venture, comprising energy giants Shell, Equinor, and TotalEnergies, is spearheading the development of a CCS project aimed at decarbonising industrial emissions and facilitating the removal of CO2 from the atmosphere. As part of this initiative, the joint venture will utilise four LNG-powered CO2 carriers to transport captured carbon dioxide for storage.
The order for the third 7,500 m3 vessel was placed with DSIC in September of the previous year, and the charter deal for the fourth vessel was signed last year.
The joint venture will transport CO2 from capture sites by ship to a terminal in western Norway for intermediate storage, before being transported by pipeline for permanent storage in a reservoir 2,600 m under the seabed.