New LCO2 tanker christened as European carbon capture and storage projects advance

Bernhard Schulte, the shipowning arm of Germany’s Schulte Group, has christened its first liquefied carbon dioxide (LCO2) carrier, Northern Purpose.

Built at Dalian Shipbuilding Offshore (DSOC) in China, the 7,500-m³ vessel is the fourth dedicated carrier for the Northern Lights project, described as ‘the world’s first’ cross-border CO2 transport and storage infrastructure initiative.

According to Bernhard Schulte, the vessel marks an important milestone in the group’s strategic expansion into carbon capture and storage (CCS)-related shipping. It is the first LCO2 carrier to join its global fleet of more than 670 managed vessels.

The newbuild features a suite of technologies aimed at reducing its operational carbon footprint, including an LNG dual-fuel propulsion system, a wind-assisted rotor sail, and an air lubrication system.

Once delivered, the 130-m vessel will enter a long-term time charter, supporting the transport of captured CO2 from industrial emitters in Northwest Europe to Norway for permanent geological storage.

“We welcome the Northern Purpose into the world’s first fleet of dedicated CO2 carriers,” commented Northern Lights’ managing director Tim Heijn, adding that the ship’s delivery marks an important milestone in scaling the transportation capacity needed to support Europe’s decarbonisation.

The first three sister vessels, Northern Pioneer, Northern Pathfinder and Northern Phoenix, feature an identical design, boasting a cargo capacity of 7,500-m³ each, distributed across two cylindrical pressure tanks. They are engineered to handle CO2 at low temperatures and medium pressure.

The four ships are described by Northern Lights as the first purpose-built vessels of their kind, designed to transport CO2 from European emitters to the company’s receiving terminal at Øygarden before permanent storage beneath the Norwegian continental shelf. The first three units are managed by K Line, while Northern Purpose will be managed by Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement (BSM).  

The Northern Lights joint venture, backed by Equinor, Shell, and TotalEnergies, recently expanded its future fleet, awarding charters for four additional, larger 12,000-m³ carriers scheduled for delivery between H2 2028 and H1 2029.

Aquaterra marks RAF fabrication milestone

In an advancement of technology for CCS projects, Norwich-based offshore engineering specialist Aquaterra Energy has moved its inaugural recoverable abandonment frame (RAF) system into fabrication.

The technology is destined for the Northern Endurance Partnership (NEP), a UK-based joint venture formed to develop and operate CO2 transportation and storage infrastructure for the UK’s East Coast Cluster. Backed by shareholders BP, Equinor, and TotalEnergies, the flagship UK CCS project targets an injection rate of up to 4M tonnes of CO2 annually from 2028.

According to the company, the patent-pending RAF system addresses one of offshore CCS’ ‘most complex’ integrity challenges by ensuring wells do not become weak points in future CO2 storage sites. The RAF enables a vertical well re-entry tieback method that supports safe and efficient re-entry, remediation and permanent abandonment, while providing long-term assurance that intersecting legacy wells can be securely managed.

Aquaterra estimates the system could reduce abandonment costs by up to £20M (US$26.9M) per well and cut remediation timelines by as much as 50%.

“NEP is the first deployment of RAF, but it addresses a challenge we are already discussing globally. We see this becoming an important enabling technology for offshore CCS projects in mature basins worldwide, making that move from concept into fabrication is hugely exciting,” said Aquaterra Energy chief executive George Morrison.

Fabrication is currently underway at Derrick Services Ltd (DSL) in Great Yarmouth, utilising a predominantly UK-based supply chain.