Northern Lights to add four LCO2 carriers in charters with K Line, MISC and MOL

Northern Lights JV has awarded charter agreements for four newbuild liquefied carbon dioxide (LCO2) carriers between three shipowners.

Japan’s Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) has won charter contracts for two of Northern Lights’ new LCO2 carriers, while a two-business consortium made up of Japan’s Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (K Line), and Malaysia International Shipping Corp (MISC Berhad) has a charter for one new LCO2 transport vessel and a promise for another charter award on a newbuilding contract to be finalised in April 2026.

The Northern Lights joint venture, made up of oil majors Equinor, TotalEnergies and Shell, said the first three vessels – those already contracted out on charters – will each have a 12,000-m³ cargo capacity and are to be delivered between H2 2028 and H1 2029.

Dalian Shipbuilding Offshore Co and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries will build the vessels for delivery for the start-up of charter services to Northern Lights.

The long-term time charter agreements awarded from the Northern Lights JV are for the cross-border transport of CO2 from commercial customers in Europe. The joint venture said the vessels would meet the needs of an expansion project it green-lit in August 2025 that will increase the site’s transport and storage capacity to more than 5M tonnes of CO2 per year. 

“With an expanded fleet, we will be able to deliver on our commitments to our customers. It will also enable us to optimise operations and increase flexibility. We are happy to continue working with our existing partners on shipping and to bring in new partners. This demonstrates a further maturation of the market, increasing the number of participants,” Northern Lights joint venture managing director Tim Heijn said.

Since late 2024, Northern Lights has taken delivery of three 7,500-m³ capacity sister ships, Northern Pioneer, Northern Pathfinder and Northern Phoenix, as part of the phase 1 development in the Norwegian government’s Longship project and following agreements with commercial customers. The three vessels are managed by K Line.

The build is underway on a fourth 7,500-m³ sister ship for charter to Northern Lights that is set to be delivered in 2026. That vessel will be owned and operated by Bernhard Schulte, a part of the Schulte Group.

Also in August 2025, CO2 storage at Northern Lights began with the first operations to sequester cargoes, transporting them through the site’s 100-km pipeline and injecting them into the Aurora reservoir, located 2,600 m beneath the seabed of the Norwegian North Sea.