Bernhard Schulte has taken delivery of its first LCO2 carrier, Northern Purpose. The 7,500m3 vessel was christened at Dalian Shipbuilding Offshore in China on 19 May and will enter long-term service supporting the Northern Lights project.
According to Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement, the vessel joins a fleet segment that currently comprises only four dedicated LCO2 carriers worldwide. The vessel is designed to transport captured CO2 from industrial sites in north-west Europe to Norway for permanent storage beneath the Norwegian North Sea. Northern Lights is the cross-border CO2 transport and storage project backed by Equinor, Shell and TotalEnergies.
Johann Schulte, majority shareholder of the Schulte Group and chief commercial officer of Bernhard Schulte, said: ‘Our new LCO2 carrier marks the exciting expansion of Bernhard Schulte’s fleet portfolio into this innovative tanker segment. We are delighted to be part of Northern Lights’ industry-leading project to provide CO2 transport and storage infrastructure.’
Northern Purpose is the fourth vessel ordered for Northern Lights and will operate alongside sister vessels Northern Pioneer, Northern Pathfinder and Northern Phoenix. The vessels share the same design and cargo capacity, with two cylindrical pressure tanks designed to transport LCO2 at low temperatures and medium pressure.
The vessel will be managed by Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement, which said it prepared crews through simulator-based training and onboard familiarisation programmes. The company selected personnel from its existing LPG carrier pool for the project.
Northern Purpose is fitted with LNG dual-fuel propulsion and additional efficiency technologies including a wind-assisted rotor sail and an air lubrication system.
‘We welcome the ‘Northern Purpose’ into the world’s first fleet of dedicated CO2 carriers,’ said Tim Heijn, managing director of Northern Lights. ‘The delivery of the ‘Northern Purpose’ marks an important milestone in scaling the transportation capacity needed to support Europe’s decarbonisation.’
