MOL gives the world a glimpse of future CO2 ships

TOKYO : Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) and compatriot Mitsubishi Shipbuilding have completed a concept study for a large liquefied CO2 (LCO2) carrier that could potentially be the mainstream in the LCO2 shipping market in the near future.

The partners examined multiple hull forms which were considered as the most effective and practical for a cargo tank capacity of up to around 50 000 cu m with different tank pressure settings.

“In order to flexibly respond to customer needs based on the entire value chain, we will make rapid efforts to realise a larger LCO2 carrier with a high degree of difficulty and develop a variety of ship types,” MOL said in a release.

MOL entered the business of transporting liquefied CO2 by sea in March 2021, when it invested in Larvik Shipping, which has managed industrial liquefied CO2 vessels in Europe for over 30 years. It is also part of a team set out to design larger LCO2 carriers that includes another local shipping giant, K Line, as well as Nippon Steel and Itochu Corporation.

Japanese shipbuilder Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) rolled out plans earlier this year to commercialise a CO2 carrier design by 2025 and most recently teamed up with French energy giant TotalEnergies to carry out a feasibility study for the development of an LCO2 carrier.

Meanwhile, in South Korea, shipbuilder Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) and American class society ABS joined forces to develop designs for a 70,000 cu m very large LCO2 carrier, while steelmaking giant Posco teamed up with Hyundai Mipo Dockyard and its parent Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering along with Lloyd’s Register and the Liberian Registry to develop a 20,000 cu m LCO2 carrier by 2025.