World’s First Liquefied CO₂ Transport Ship Arrives In Norway

The Northern Pioneer, the world’s first commercial liquefied CO₂ transport ship, has reached its home port in Stavanger, Norway. Its arrival marks the final step in completing the Northern Lights value chain, a major carbon capture and storage (CCS) initiative.

CCS captures about 90% of the CO₂ emissions from the use of fossil fuels in power generation and industries like cement and steel. This prevents it from entering the atmosphere and stores it underground.

The vessel will soon proceed to the CO₂ receiving terminal in Øygarden for commissioning before starting operations later this year.

The ship measuring 130 meters long is designed to transport 8,000 tonnes of liquefied CO₂ from industrial sites in Europe to Norway. It is the first of four sister ships built exclusively for CO₂ transport.

It will be registered in Norway and managed by the Japanese shipping company Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd. (“K” Line).

Tim Heijn, the Managing Director of Northern Lights JV, highlighted the importance of the vessel’s arrival, stating that this is another milestone in building the largest dedicated CO₂ shipping fleet in the world.

A special christening ceremony was held for Northern Pioneer, where it was blessed by its godmother, Tina Bru, a resident of Stavanger and former Minister of Petroleum and Energy.

The vessel was delivered in November 2024. It will safely transport captured CO₂ from European industrial sites to an onshore terminal in western Norway. From there, the CO₂ will be moved via pipeline to a permanent storage reservoir located 2,600 meters beneath the seabed.

Northern Lights JV is a partnership between Equinor, Shell and TotalEnergies, making it the first company to provide commercial CO₂ transport and storage services.

The company has signed two agreements, one with Yara International which is the world’s first commercial agreement on cross-border CO₂ transport and storage, and the other with Ørsted in Denmark.

Yara plans to cut 800,000 tons of CO₂ emissions annually from its ammonia production at Yara Sluiskil. Yara Sluiskil will expand its CO₂ liquefaction capacity to handle 12 million tons over the next 15 years, with an investment of around EUR 200 million.

The liquefied CO₂ will be stored in onshore tanks in Øygarden before being injected into an offshore saline aquifer for permanent storage. Operations are set to begin in 2025 and will run for 15 years.

Reference: Norlights, Yara

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