Keel laid for Northern Lights’ LNG-powered LCO2 carrier duo

Northern Lights, a joint venture (JV) of energy majors Shell, Equinor, and TotalEnergies, has held a keel-laying ceremony for the first two new LNG-powered, wind-assisted LCO2 transportation ships.

As informed, the ceremony took place at Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Co. (DSIC) yard in China on 13 April. Keel laying is a ceremonial recognition of the shipbuilding start in the construction dock at the shipyard.

The fabrication of the ships started in November 2022, with the first steel cut ceremony. The keel laying represents the placement of the first building block of a ship and is usually marked with a ceremony as one of the major milestones in the lifecycle of a ship.

“The keel laying is a major milestone in building the world’s first large scale LCO₂ transport ships. In 2024, the ships will be launched from the dock at the shipyard in China and will sail to the Northern Lights facilities in Norway, ready for operations”, said Børre Jacobsen, Managing Director for Northern Lights.

According to the company, the ships will have a cargo capacity of 7,500 cbm, a length of 130 meters, and will be operated by K LINE on behalf of Northern Lights.

The vessels are specifically designed to transport liquefied CO2 in purpose-built cargo tanks from industrial emitters in Norway and Europe to the onshore receiving facilities in Øygarden, Norway.

Northern Lights is developing the world’s first open-source and flexible infrastructure to transport CO2 from industrial emitters by ship to a receiving terminal at Øygarden, west of Bergen in Norway.

The CO2 will be transported from the terminal by pipeline for permanent storage in a geological reservoir 2,600 metres under the seabed. Operations are scheduled to start in 2024.