Ship manager Bernhard Schulte has placed an order for its first CO2 tanker in connection with the Northern Lights carbon capture and storage project
The company is expanding its fleet and has placed an order for a CO2 newbuilding at China’s Dalian Shipbuilding Offshore (DSOC) with delivery planned for 2026. Upon arrival, the vessel is committed to a long-term time charter agreement with Northern Lights and will support the development of the world’s first cross-border CO2 transport and storage infrastructure.
This newbuilding is the first ship of this type for the Bernhard Schulte fleet and the fourth CO2 carrier for Northern Lights, the joint venture owned by Shell, TotalEnergies and Equinor.
Northern Lights has already awarded three LCO2 orders to DSOC. Two are under construction and the third was ordered in September this year. All four ships are sister vessels with the same vessel design and have a cargo capacity of 7,500 m3. Custom-built for transporting liquefied CO2, these ships are the first of their kind, moving CO2 from Northern Lights’ customers across northwest Europe to a CO2 receiving terminal at Øygarden, Norway before permanent sequesterisation offshore.
“Ordering this vessel is an exciting step in the expansion of Bernhard Schulte’s fleet portfolio in an innovative future tanker segment. We are looking forward to becoming part of Northern Lights’ industry-leading project to provide CO2 transport and storage infrastructure. We are furthermore delighted to have Dalian Shipbuilding Offshore as our selected partner in this endeavour. The Schulte Group has long-standing relationships with Chinese shipyards, which is a strong foundation for this outstanding project,” said Bernhard Schulte chief executive Ian Beveridge.
Dalian Shipbuilding president Yingzhi Sun added, “As the most experienced offshore yard in China, we are glad to form a relationship with Bernhard Schulte and jointly provide our services to contribute Northern Lights CCS projects. DSOC is confident it can deliver the vessel on time with highest quality and HSE standards. It is indeed a great honour to be part of this collaboration by providing our liquefied CO2 transport solutions.”
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