Northern Lights completes phase one CO2 fleet with fourth carrier
The Northern Lights carbon capture joint venture has received its fourth purpose-built vessel from China, completing the shipping fleet needed to offer commercial CO2 transport and storage services to European industrial emitters.
The Northern Lights carbon capture and storage joint venture has taken delivery of its fourth liquefied CO2 carrier, completing the shipping fleet required for its initial phase of commercial operations. The vessel, Northern Purpose, arrived in Norway on July 29 after a voyage from China, where it was constructed by Dalian Shipbuilding Offshore Co. (DSOC) and christened in May.
At 130 meters long, Northern Purpose joins three sister ships—Northern Pioneer, Northern Pathfinder, and Northern Phoenix. Each vessel features two cylindrical pressure tanks providing a cargo capacity of 7,500 cubic meters. The fleet is specifically designed to transport liquefied CO2 from industrial emitters across Europe to Northern Lights’ receiving terminal at Øygarden, before the gas is permanently injected beneath the Norwegian Continental Shelf.
For energy executives and investors, the fleet's completion signals the maturation of carbon dioxide as a transportable commodity. Heavy industries such as cement and steel manufacturing lack local geological formations for carbon storage, making cross-border logistics essential for them to decarbonize. The Northern Lights project, backed by Equinor, Shell, and TotalEnergies, is the world’s first third-party CO2 transport and storage network to reach this stage of operational readiness.
The joint venture injected and stored its first CO2 volumes in August 2025 as part of Longship, the Norwegian government’s full-scale carbon capture and storage initiative. Reaching full fleet capacity allows the partners to guarantee the reliable, flexible transport schedules that industrial customers require to justify the high capital expenditures of installing on-site carbon capture equipment.
The construction of the fleet in China also underscores the global supply chain dynamics of the new carbon economy. DSOC has now delivered all four phase-one vessels, outfitting them with LNG dual-fuel propulsion, wind-assisted rotor sails, and air lubrication systems to reduce the carriers' own emission footprint.
Looking ahead, the joint venture is preparing for significant volume growth. In January, Northern Lights secured charter agreements for four additional CO2 carriers with Japanese shipping firms Mitsui O.S.K. Lines and a consortium comprising Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha and MISC. “With the arrival of Northern Purpose, we have completed the vessel fleet required for Phase 1 operations. This is an important milestone for Northern Lights to ensure reliable and flexible CO2 transport and storage services to our customers across Europe,” said Tim Heijn, Managing Director of Northern Lights JV.
