South Korean shipbuilding giant Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) has received basic design approval from classification society ABS for a large liquefied CO2 carrier.
DSME said in a statement on Thursday it has received approval in principle for a 250 meters long and 44 meters wide vessel, the largest among LCO2 carriers that have obtained approval from the classification society so far.
The shipbuilder said that interest in LCO2 carriers has increased due to the recent development of decarbonization policies and carbon capture technology around the world.
In particular, DSME sees the need for the development of a super-large LCO2 carrier.
This is because the small LCO2 carriers with a capacity of 1,000 to 2,000 cbm currently used in the food industry would have limitations in satisfying the demands of the emerging carbon capture market, it said.
For this reason, DSME developed the new large LCO2 carrier with a capacity of 70,000 cbm.
According to the shipbuilder, it has designed the vessel to respond to various environmental regulations, and the vessel has enough space for an LNG-powered engine and a CO2 capture and storage device.
DSME is also developing new materials for liquefied CO2 storage tanks and a ship design that can boost the operating efficiency of shipowners by increasing tank capacities, it said.