China recently launched the world’s first 7,500-cubic-meter liquefied carbon dioxide tankers.
Specially developed for Norway-based Northern Lights, the tankers are about 130 meters long and 21.2 meters wide, with a draft of 8 meters.
Independently developed by Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Co., Ltd. (DSIC), a subsidiary of China State Shipbuilding Corporation Limited (CSSC), the tankers are equipped with two 3,750-cubic-meter fully-pressurized C-type liquid cargo tanks made of special materials for transporting carbon dioxide.
They have a maximum carrying pressure of 19 barg and are capable of operating under temperatures as low as minus 35 degrees Celsius.
The tankers can be powered by both liquefied natural gas and marine diesel, and their emissions of sulfur oxides and nitrogen oxides meet the world’s latest energy efficiency design index requirements.
The tankers are next to undertake underwater mooring trials.
Once delivered, they will operate under the framework of the strategic vision for carbon capture, usage and storage tabled by the European Commission, collecting carbon dioxide generated by European industries and injecting it into a permanent storage site 2,600 meters below the seabed.
As the world’s first tankers dedicated to marine carbon transportation and storage, the tankers are expected to demonstrate solutions to handling land-based carbon dioxide emissions.
