Japan’s shipping giant MOL said it has secured an approval in principle from classification society ClassNK for the design of a large liquefied carbon dioxide (CO2) carrier.
MOL launched research and development in June last year for a large LCO2 carrier in response to a call for proposals by Japan’s NEDO.
The firm worked on the vessel’s conceptual design under a project entrusted by NEDO to Japan CCS.
MOL said in a statement the vessel’s design is one element of NEDO’s large-scale CCUS demonstration project in Tomakoma on CO2 transportation.
The large LCO2 carrier will have a capacity of 64,000 cbm.
MOL said it would transport CO2 over long distances on a scale of one million tons a year, based on NEDO’s vision to implement CCUS technology.
Earlier this year, MOL completed a concept study for a vessel that can carry both ammonia and liquefied CO2.
MOL entered the liquefied CO2 ocean transport business last year through investment in Norway’s Larvik Shipping, which has managed LCO2 carriers for industrial customers in Europe for over 30 years.