Northern Lights enters charter agreement to expand fleet with a fourth CO2 ship

• By Northern Lights - Media Source
• Dec 19, 2023

Northern Lights announces the award of a time charter agreement to Bernhard Schulte. The ship will be the fourth in line to the sister ships currently under construction at Dalian Shipbuilding Offshore Co., Ltd (DSOC). With the fourth ship, Northern Lights will have the world’s largest dedicated CO2 shipping fleet.

Following the announcement of commercial agreements with Ørsted and Yara for the transportation and storage of CO2, Northern Lights placed an order for a third vessel in September this year. With the chartering of a fourth vessel from Bernhard Schulte, Northern Lights expands its shipping capacity further to provide CO2 transportation services to its commercial customers.

– This deal marks another major milestone for us. CCS is a safe and efficient way to handle emissions and it is critical to meet climate targets. We are excited to see Bernhard Schulte now entering the Liquid CO2 business, as strong partnerships are required to succeed. We have strong belief in the tripart collaboration between Northern Lights JV, DSOC and Bernhard Schulte, says Børre Jacobsen, Managing Director of Northern Lights.

The ships will have a cargo capacity of 7,500 m3. Custom-built for transportation of liquefied CO2, these ships are the first of their kind and will safely transport CO2 from Northern Lights’ customers across Northwest Europe to the CO2 receiving terminal at Øygarden, Norway before permanent geological storage. Northern Lights is developing a ship-based CO2 transport solution and has implemented innovative technologies in the ship design to reduce the CO2 emissions from shipping. The primary fuel for the ships will be LNG. Combined with other proven technologies, such as wind-assisted rotor sail and air lubrication, the ships will have around 34% lower carbon footprint compared to conventional ships running on marine fuel.

The fourth Northern Lights ship will be owned and operated by Bernhard Schulte, the reputable ship owning business of the family-owned international Schulte Group, a leading shipping company providing next to the core business ship management and other maritime services around the globe. Northern Lights has signed a long-term time charter party for the cross-border transport of CO2.

– 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,” says Ian Beveridge, CEO of Bernhard Schulte.

– As the most experienced offshore yard in China, we are glad to form such first-ever cooperation relationship with Bernhard Schulte and jointly provide our services to contribute to Northern Lights CCS projects. DSOC is confident to deliver the vessel on time with highest quality and HSE standards. It is indeed a great honor to be part of this collaboration by providing our Liquefied CO2 transportation solutions, says Yingzhi Sun, President of DSOC.

Facts about the ship

• Capacity: 7,500 m3 liquid CO2
• Two cylindrical cargo tanks
• Length: 130 meters
• Cargo transport conditions: maximum 19 bar(g) pressure and minimum -35°C temperature
• 34% lower carbon footprint than ships on conventional fuel
• LNG Dual Fuel, wind-assisted rotor sail and air lubrication

• Tags
• # northern lights
• # co2shipping