The first in a fleet of four CO2 transport ships, the Northern Pioneer, is ready for delivery at Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Co. (DSIC) in Dalian, China, Northern Lights announced, a company that offers commercial CO2 transport and storage as a service.
Northern Lights JV, owned by Equinor, Shell and TotalEnergies, said that the CO2 receiving facility in Øygarden, Norway, was completed in September and is now ready to receive CO2 from Norwegian and European industries.
With a 7,500 m3 cargo size and 130 m length, the vessel will be registered in Norway and managed by Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd. (K Line).
The vessel is the first of its kind, custom designed to safely transport liquefied CO2 from capture sites in Europe to the Northern Lights receiving terminal, as Northern Lights claims in its statement.
Both Northern Pioneer and her sister ship, the Northern Pathfinder, currently under construction are built by Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Co. (DSIC) in China.
Two additional ships are being built by Dalian Shipbuilding Offshore Co., Ltd (DSOC).
“This is a great moment for Northern Lights and the CCS industry. Today we celebrate that the full CO2 transport and storage chain of Northern Lights is ready. Northern Pioneer and her sister ships will enable flexible and scalable CO2 transport across Europe”, said managing director of Northern Lights Tim Heijn.
