Northern Lights enters charter agreement to expand fleet with a fourth CO2 ship
Today, 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, according to the company's release.
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.
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.
Northern Lights is developing the world’s first cross-border CO2 transport and storage infrastructure. Delivering CO2 transport and storage as a service, Northern Lights enables mitigation of industrial emissions that cannot be avoided and accelerates the decarbonisation of European industry. The company will transport liquefied CO2 from capture sites to an onshore receiving terminal in western Norway, before transporting it by pipeline for permanent storage in a reservoir 2,600 metres under the seabed. CCS is a necessary climate solution to decarbonise industry and reduce or remove industrial CO2 emissions. On schedule to be ready to receive CO2 in 2024, Northern Lights offers safe and reliable CO2 transport and storage services to industrial emitters in Norway and across Europe. Northern Lights JV DA is a registered, incorporated General Partnership with Shared Liability (DA) owned by Equinor, TotalEnergies and Shell.
Dalian Shipbuilding Offshore Co., Ltd. (DSOC) is the most experienced and prominent EPC shipbuilding and offshore yard in China. With its registered location in Dalian, DSOC stepped into the global oil and gas industry in early 1970s and has become a well-established player in the market. Until now, over 100 offshore products have been delivered to the worldwide clients, including the LNG bunker vessel, liquefied gas carriers (VLEC), wind farm installation platform, and also oil and gas drilling and operation products, such as FPSO topside modules, semi-sub and jack-up drilling rigs. Now with the implementing of a series of CO2 ships for Northern Lights, the CO2 ships is becoming DSOC’s main business.
Bernhard Schulte is the ship owning business of the international, family-owned Schulte Group. Building on the group’s 140 years of experience in the industry, Bernhard Schulte controls a modern and diversified fleet of 80 fully or partly owned vessels, including container and offshore vessels, bulk carriers, tankers and gas carriers. The Schulte Group engages in ship owning, ship management, maritime software solutions, maritime services and asset management. Through its global network of more than 30 offices in major shipping locations, the Schulte Group employs over 20,000 seafarers and 3,000 people on shore.
